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THE  CONNOISSEUR’S  LIBRARY 

GENERAL  EDITOR:  CYRIL  DAVENPORT 


IVORIES 


IVORIES 


BY 

ALFRED  MASKELL,  F.S.A. 


NEW  YORK:  G.  P.  PUTNAM’S  SONS 
LONDON:  METHUEN  AND  CO. 

1905 


PREFACE 


IVORY  sculpture  has  long  formed  an  interesting 
subject  in  literature,  and  the  examples  to  be 
found  in  the  great  national  and  private  collections 
throughout  the  world,  though  not  numerous,  have,  it 
may  be  said,  a special  importance  not  inferior  to  those 
of  any  other  department  of  the  world’s  art.  The 
estimation  in  which  they  are  held  arises  from  various 
causes.  First  from  their  comparative  rarity,  next 
because  practically  all  examples  of  importance  and 
their  whereabouts  are  known,  and  lastly  from  their 
intrinsic  beauty,  and  from  the  fact  that  they  not  only 
constitute  an  epitome,  as  it  were,  of  the  world’s  art 
from  the  earliest  times  down  to  at  least  the  period  of 
the  renaissance,  but  because  they  form  almost  the  sole 
links  in  the  chain  of  examples  of  artistic  development 
during  the  many  centuries  when,  in  other  directions, 
this  makes  almost  total  default. 

The  literature  concerning  carvings  in  ivory,  espe- 
cially the  dissertations  upon  such  an  important  section 
as  the  consular  diptychs,  is  voluminous,  and  includes 
the  names  of  the  most  distinguished  archaeologists  and 
critics,  going  back  almost  to  the  sixteenth  century,  in 
days  when  the  study  of  the  fine  arts  received  less 
attention  than  it  does  now.  But,  generally  speaking,  it 
deals  with  special  divisions,  and  we  have  no  connected 
accounts  of  the  progress  of  ivory  carving  throughout 
the  world’s  history. 

In  submitting  the  present  work  I can  hardly  pre- 
tend, within  the  limits  assigned,  to  have  treated  such 


IVORIES 

a vast  subject  fully  irx  all  its  ramifications.  Volumes 
might  be  written  upon  any  one  of  its  divisions  or 
chapters,  so  that,  although  apparently  covering  a large 
extent  of  ground,  this  work  still  remains  but  little  more 
than  a sketch.  I propose  to  advance  no  theories  on  dis- 
puted questions,  to  enter  into  no  speculations  except 
those  which  may  have  a general  human  interest.  In  a 
subject  of  such  universal  application  omissions  must  be 
innumerable.  If,  therefore,  I can  only  claim  to  produce 
a sketch,  at  least  I may  hope  that  it  will  not  be  con- 
sidered a hasty  one,  and  that  any  merit  it  may  possess 
may  be  estimated,  as  sketches  should  be,  by  the  judg- 
ment I may  have  exercised  in  leaving  out,  as  much  as 
by  including,  and  by  thus  presenting,  in  a certain  way, 
a complete  picture. 

In  describing  particular  examples  I have  endeavoured 
to  confine  my  references,  as  far  as  possible,  to  objects 
which  are  easily  accessible  and  may  be  seen  in  our  great 
national  collections — the  South  Kensington  Museum, 
the  British  Museum,  the  Mayer  Collection  at  Liverpool, 
and  the  Wallace  Collection.  It  would  be  impossible  to 
include  all  the  ivories  which  have  claims  on  our  attention. 
Doubtless,  every  great  museum  and  private  collection 
contains  many  admirable,  and  sometimes  unique,  ex- 
amples. Still,  it  may  be  said  that  the  four  institutions 
just  mentioned  provide  ample  material  to  cover  every 
point  of  interest  which  might  arise. 

As  a general  rule,  I have  taken,  as  a standard,  the 
value  of  ivory  carvings  from  the  point  of  view  of  their 
beauty,  and  the  place  they  occupy  in  the  history  of  art, 
and  I have  endeavoured  to  confine  the  treatment  of  the 
subject  solely  to  the  case  of  ivories.  It  may  be  said  with 
regard  to  certain  characteristics  of  style  or  decoration 
that  they  are  not  peculiar  to  ivory,  but  that  similar 
fashions  and  themes  are  common  to  the  various  arts. 
That  is  so,  but  it  would  not  only  be  tedious  to  be  con- 
stantly noticing  analogies  of  treatment  and  making 


VI 


PREFACE 

researches  into  origins,  but  to  do  so  would  be  to  extend 
this  book  to  an  unreasonable  length.  No  one  can 
dispute  the  mutual  interchange  between  the  different 
arts  : how  they  act  and  react  on  each  other,  and  give 
and  take,  or,  it  may  be  said  rather,  persistently  borrow 
and  assimilate.  Naturally,  in  our  ivories,  we  shall  find 
at  times  similar  subjects  treated  in  ways  with  which  we 
may  be  elsewhere  familiar,  but  it  will  be  unnecessary 
to  call  attention  to  such  coincidences,  except  in  cases 
where  they  are  particularly  striking. 

Few  references  to  authorities  and  no  footnotes  have 
been  added.  The  latter  are  often  tiresome,  and  it  is 
hoped  that  the  extended  bibliography  at  the  end  of  this 
book  will  serve  the  purpose  of  those  who  desire  to  inquire 
further.  I have  not  unnaturally  been  guided  to  a con- 
siderable extent,  as  regards  ancient  and  mediaeval  ivories, 
by  the  introduction  to  Mr.  William  Maskell’s  Catalogue 
of  Ivories  in  the  South  Kensington  Museum,  for  I could 
go  to  no  better  authority.  Great  use  has  been  made,  also, 
of  Westwood’s  Catalogue  of  “Fictile  Ivories”  in  the  same 
museum  ; but  while  availing  myself  of  the  excellent  col- 
lection of  casts,  I have  endeavoured  to  see,  wherever 
possible,  every  original  to  which  reference  is  here  made. 
The  exceptions  are  not  many,  or  of  importance,  and,  in 
such  instances,  the  casts  are,  for  most  practical  purposes, 
equal  to  the  ivories  themselves.  The  iatter  have,  no 
doubt,  in  several  cases  changed  hands  in  late  years,  and 
while  care  has  been  taken  to  follow  their  vicissitudes,  it 
has  not  been  possible  always,  perhaps,  to  avoid  error  in 
this  respect  and  to  state  correctly  the  present  owners. 
These  instances  are,  however,  few,  and  concern  examples 
which  are  only  incidentally  mentioned. 

An  endeavour  has  been  made  to  present  the  subject 
in  such  a manner  as  to  avoid  the  character  which  it 
might  otherwise  have— of  a merely  descriptive  cata- 
logue. For  this  purpose  it  is  hoped  that  the  inci- 
dental remarks  concerning  the  use  of  the  various  objects 


Vll 


IVORIES 

mentioned  may  not  be  without  interest.  Some,  perhaps, 
may  not  see  the  value,  for  example,  of  discoursing  on 
the  liturgical  use  of  diptychs,  may  think  it  trespassing 
on  the  province  of  the  liturgiologist,  and  that  a state- 
ment of  the  mere  fact  would  suffice.  Such  particulars, 
however,  may  help  to  brighten  the  description  and  add 
to  the  interest  which  on  this  account  is  attached  to 
them.  So  also  with  regard  to  pastoral  staves,  to  which 
some  general  references  are  made.  The  difficulty  has 
been  to  refrain  from  adding  more  of  the  same  kind. 
I can  only  trust  that  the  line  has  been  fairly  drawn, 
and  that  what  may  not  be  new  to  all  may  be  new  to 
some. 

A.  M. 

\^th  January^  1904 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Preface, v 

List  of  the  Plates, xi 

Chapter  I.  Introductory,  .....  i 

Chapter  II.  Prehistoric  Ivory  Carvings,  . . 21 

Chapter  III.  Ivories  from  the  Ruins  of  Nineveh 

and  of  Ancient  Egypt,  . 31 

Chapter  IV.  Consular  Diptychs  and  other 

Ancient  Greek  and  Roman  Ivories,  . . 47 

Chapter  V.  Early  Christian  Ivories,  . . 82 

Chapter  VI.  Byzantine  Ivories,  ...  99 

Chapter  VII.  Ecclesiastical  Diptychs — Palimp- 
sests, . . . . . . . .128 

Chapter  VIII.  Religious  Art  in  Ivory  of  the 
Thirteenth,  Fourteenth,  and  Fifteenth  Cen- 
turies, . . . . . . 139 

Chapter  IX.  Pastoral  Staves  and  Liturgical 

Combs,  . . . . . . .192 

Chapter  X.  Secular  Art  in  Ivory  of  the  Thir- 
teenth, Fourteenth,  and  Fifteenth  Centuries,  220 


IX 


IVORIES 


PAGE 


Chapter  XL  Crucifixes — The  Iconography  of 


the  Cross  in  Early  and  Mediaeval  Ivories — 
Religious  Art  in  the  Fifteenth  Century  and 
after,  ........  246 

Chapter  XII.  Post-Renaissance  Sculpture  in 

Ivory,  . . . . . . .271 

Chapter  XIII.  Chessmen  and  Draughtsmen,  . 309 

Chapter  XIV.  Ivory  Sculpture  in  Spain,  Portu- 
gal, and  West  Africa,  . . . . .321 

Chapter  XV.  India,  Persia,  Arabia,  . . 330 

Chapter  XVI.  China  and  Japan,  . . . 339 

Chapter  XVII.  Furniture,  Musical  Instruments, 

Arms  and  Sporting  Weapons,  and  other 
Accessories  of  the  Field  and  Chase,  . . 355 

Chapter  XVIII.  Working,Colouring, Discolour- 
ing, Forgeries,  Artificial  Ivory — The  Great 
Collections,  ......  373 

Chapter  XIX.  The  Nineteenth  Century  and  the 

Present  Day,  ......  394 

List  of  Examples  Referred  to,  . . . 416 

Bibliography, 431 

Index, 438 


X 


LIST  OF  THE  PLATES 


I. 

Portion  of  group.  Thirteenth  century. 

Prehistoric  sculpture  . . . 

Frontispiece 

TO  KACE  PAGE 

28 

II. 

Prehistoric  sculpture  . . 

29 

III. 

Ivories  from  Nineveh  . . . . 

39 

IV. 

Ivories  from  Nineveh  . 

41 

V. 

Consular  diptychs  . . . 

59 

VI. 

Consular  diptychs  . . • 

60 

VII. 

Consular  diptychs  . . 

65 

VIII. 

Consular  diptychs  . . . 

67 

IX. 

Leaf  of  Roman  diptych.  Third  century  . 

72 

X. 

Roman  diptych.  Third  century  . 

75 

XI. 

Roman  diptychs  and  plaque 

76 

XII. 

Early  Christian  ivories.  Seventh  century 

90 

XIII. 

Leaf  of  the  diptych  of  Rambona.  Ninth  century 

93 

XIV. 

Book-covers.  Seventh  century  . 

96 

XV. 

Leaf  of  diptych.  Fourth  century 

los 

XVI. 

Byzantine  plaques  and  a pyxis 

107 

XVII. 

Panel  of  casket.  Fifth  century  . 

108 

XVIII. 

Chair  of  Maximian,  Ravenna.  Sixth  century 

1 10 

XIX. 

Book-covers.  Ninth  century 

1 12 

XX. 

Book-covers.  Ninth  century 

113 

XXI. 

Byzantine  plaques.  Eleventh  century 

114 

XXII. 

Plaque.  North  Europe.  Eleventh  century 

1 16 

XXIII. 

Cover  of  Psalter.  Twelfth  century 

118 

XXIV. 

Russo-Greek  ivories.  Sixteenth  century  . 

124 

XXV. 

Russian  throne  and  chair  of  St.  Peter 

125 

XXVI. 

Book-cover  and  palimpsest  plaque 

134 

XXVII. 

Open-worked  panels.  Fourteenth  century 

152 

xi 


IVORIES 


TO  FACE  PAGE 


XXVIII. 
XXIX. 
XXX. 
XXXI. 
XXXII. 
XXXIII. 
XXXIV. 
XXXV. 
XXXVI. 
XXXVII. 
XXXVIII. 
XXXIX, 
XL. 
XLI. 
XLII. 
XLIII. 
XLIV. 
XLV. 
XLVI. 
XLVII. 
XLVIII. 
XLIX. 
L. 
LI. 
LII. 
LIII. 
LIV. 
LV. 
LVI. 
LVII. 
LVIII. 
LIX. 
LX. 
LXI. 
LXII. 
LXIII. 
LX  IV. 
xii 


Panel  and  book-cover.  Fourteenth  century 
English  casket  and  diptych 
French  triptych  and  diptych 
The  Grandisson  triptych  and  diptych 
Diptychs.  Fourteenth  century  . 

Triptych.  Fourteenth  century  . 

Triptych  and  leaf  of  diptych.  Fourteenth  century 
Diptychs.  Fourteenth  century  (Wallace  collection) 
Predella  of  an  altar-piece.  Fourteenth  century  . 
Statuette.  Fourteenth  century  . 

“ Vierge  ouvrante  ” of  Boubon  . 

Groups.  Thirteenth  century 
Miscellaneous  small  ivories 
Taus  and  a crosier  head 

Crosier  heads  . . . . 

Liturgical  combs  . . . . 

The  Veroli  casket  and  a chair  arm 
Runic  caskets  . . . . 

Romance  caskets.  Fourteenth  century  . 

Marriage  caskets.  Fifteenth  century 
Mirror  cases.  Fourteenth  century 
Mirror  case.  Fifteenth  century 
Combs.  Fourteenth  to  sixteenth  centuries 
Oliphants.  Eleventh  to  sixteenth  centuries 
Crucifix  fragment  and  part  of  a crosier  head 

Crucifix.  Seventeenth  century  . 

Crucifix.  Seventeenth  century  . 

Triptych.  Sixteenth  century 
Statuettes.  Fourteenth  and  sixteenth  centuries 
Plaques.  Sixteenth  and  seventeenth  centuries  . 
Plaques.  Seventeenth  century  . 

Plaque.  Seventeenth  century  . 

Tankard.  Seventeenth  century 
Tankard,  Seventeenth  century 
Plaques.  Seventeenth  century  . 

Cabinet.  Seventeenth  century  . 

Doors  of  cabinet.  Seventeenth  century  . 


154 

158 

160 

161 

164 

165 

166 

167 

168 
170 
174 
178 
188 
199 
203 
210 
222 
224 

230 

231 

234 

235 

236 
242 
257 

263 

264 
266 

268 

269 

287 

288 

289 

290 

291 

292 

293 


LIST  OF  THE  PLATES 

TO  FACE  PAGE 

LXV.  Examples  of  lathe  work.  Eighteenth  century.  . 298 

LX VI.  Medallions  and  plaques  . . . . 301 

LXVII.  Tobacco  graters  . . ...  302 

LXVIII.  Chessmen.  Twelfth  century  . . . . 314 

LXIX.  Chessmen  and  draughtsmen.  Twelfth  century  . 319 

LXX.  Moorish  caskets  . . ...  323 

LXXI.  West  African  ivories.  Sixteenth  century  . . 328 

LXXII.  Indian  casket  and  plaques.  Seventeenth  century  . 335 

LXXIII.  Indian  casket.  Seventeenth  century  . . . 337 

LXXiv.  Saracenic  panels.  Fourteenth  century  . . . 338 

LXXV.  Chinese  ivories  . . ...  340 

LXX VI.  Japanese  netsukes  . ...  344 

LXX VII.  Japanese  netsukes  . ...  346 

LXXVIII.  Japanese  netsukds  . . ...  348 

LXX  IX.  Chairs.  Eighteenth  century  . ...  360 

LXXX.  Harp.  Fifteenth  century  . ...  362 

LXXXI.  Inlaid  firearms.  Seventeenth  century  . . . 369 

LXXXII.  Powder-flasks.  Sixteenth  and  seventeenth  centuries  370 
LXXXIII.  Caskets.  Fifteenth  and  seventeenth  centuries.  . 371 

Lxxxiv.  “ Vierge  ouvrante”  of  the  Louvre  . . . 384 

LXXXV.  Statuette.  Nineteenth  century  . . .401 

LXXXVI.  Group.  Nineteenth  century  . ...  403 

LXXXVII.  Group.  Nineteenth  century  . ...  407 

LXXX VIII.  Bust.  Nineteenth  century  . . . .410 


IVORIES 


CHAPTER  I 

INTRODUCTORY 

The  use  of  ivory  as  a decorative  material  has 
been  so  universal  in  the  history  of  civilisation, 
it  is  so  intimately  connected  with  almost  every 
other  substance  employed  in  the  production  and  adorn- 
ment of  beautiful  objects,  that  a close  and  systematic 
consideration  of  its  various  applications  would  seem  to 
involve  the  study  of  the  whole  world  s art  in  all  ages. 
Not  only  would  this  be  the  case  with  regard  to  that 
which  is,  in  the  strictest  sense,  sculpture  in  ivory,  but 
we  shall  find  that  even  the  graphic  arts  cannot  be 
excluded  ; for  in  the  decoration  of  ivory,  the  subjects 
carved  or  engraved  upon  it,  and  the  practical  use  to 
which  many  of  the  objects  which  will  come  under  our 
notice  were  destined,  will  insensibly  lead  us  to  consider 
endless  illustrations  of  the  manners  and  customs  of 
mankind  from  the  earliest  periods  of  which  we  possess 
any  written  account.  Nay,  more,  we  shall  have  to  go 
back  to  a period  in  prehistoric  ages  when  it  may  almost 
be  said  that  the  only  records  are  graphic  ones,  carved 
or  incised  on  this  very  material  which  is  to  occupy  our 
attention. 

It  will  be  a surprise  to  many,  perhaps,  to  find  that 

B 


IVORIES 


ivory  has  played  so  important  a part  in  our  civilisation ; 
but  though  the  principal  aim  of  the  present  work  will 
be  the  consideration  of  the  decorative  application  of 
this  material,  the  commercial  uses  in  the  more  common 
necessities  of  our  daily  life  will  not  be  altogether  ex- 
cluded. It  will  enter  into  our  plan  also  to  include 
bone  and  horn  where  these  substances  are  employed, 
as  we  shall  often  find  them,  in  a similar  manner  to 
elephant  or  true  ivory.  With  regard  to  horn,  the  use 
of  stags’  horn  is  meant.  It  was,  at  one  time,  a com- 
mon substitute  for  ivory,  which  it  greatly  resembles, 
in  the  inlay  and  decoration  of  firelocks,  crossbows,  and 
similar  weapons.  Bone  was  much  employed  in  Italy, 
probably  on  account  of  the  scarcity  of  ivory,  and  was 
worked  with  no  less  care  and  with  little  loss  of  effect. 

Within  the  limits  assigned  to  us  we  can  scarcely 
hope  to  do  more  than  endeavour  to  call  attention  to  the 
more  important  among  the  many  examples — decorative 
or  purely  useful — which  have  come  down  to  us,  and  are 
preserved  in  the  museums  and  private  collections  of 
the  world  ; but  in  touching  ever  so  lightly  on  these 
objects,  and  in  endeavouring  to  increase  their  interest 
by  connecting  them  with  the  uses  — religious  and 
secular — to  which  they  were  devoted,  the  importance  of 
the  subject  can  hardly  fail  to  be  appreciated. 

Multitudinous  are  the  applications  which  ivory  is 
made  to  serve.  It  would  be  easier,  almost,  to  enumerate 
amongst  the  industrial  arts  those  in  which  it  has  played 
no  part  than  those  in  which  it  forms  the  principal 
attraction.  Nor  is  this  surprising  if  we  consider  the 
intrinsic  beauty  of  the  material,  its  comparatively 
lasting  nature,  the  brilliancy  of  the  polish,  and  the 
peculiar  delicacy  of  the  colour,  whether  we  may  prefer 
this  to  rival  the  purest  white  of  the  finest  marble,  or, 
on  the  other  hand,  to  be  of  that  semi-transparent 
mellow  tint  with  which  it  is  more  generally  associated. 
Little  wonder,  then,  that,  from  the  most  distant  times, 


2 


INTRODUCTORY 

the  eastern  peoples  of  Asia  and  Africa,  which  furnish 
the  raw  material  in  abundance,  should  have  excelled 
in  the  working  of  ivory,  and  in  applying  it  to  the  most 
noble  purposes  of  utility  and  decoration. 

Strictly  speaking,  the  term  ivory  is  confined  to  the 
tusk  of  the  elephant,  and  for  commercial  purposes  to 
that  of  the  male  elephant.  In  Africa  both  males  and 
females  furnish  good-sized  tusks,  but  in  India  females 
scarcely  any  at  all,  and  not  all  males.  When  elephants 
are  kept  in  captivity  the  tusks  are  shortened  occasion- 
ally, but  the  produce  is  not  so  valuable  as  when  in  the 
wild  state.  As  a chemical  substance  ivory  may  be 
placed  between  bone  and  horn.  It  is  not  so  brittle  as 
bone,  and  is  of  a closer  nature,  and  does  not  splinter 
so  much  when  broken.  Being  more  fibrous,  it  cannot 
be  torn.  The  substance  is  very  dense,  the  pores  close 
and  compact,  and  filled  with  an  oily  or  waxy  solution, 
which  contributes  to  the  beautiful  polish,  and  renders 
it  more  supple  and  amenable  to  the  tool  of  the  worker 
than  is,  for  example,  the  refractory  nature  of  marble. 

The  composition  of  ivory  is  essentially  equivalent 
to  that  hard,  bony  substance  of  which  most  teeth  are 
principally  formed.  It  may  be  said  to  consist  of  an 
organic  matrix  richly  impregnated  with  calcareous 
salts,  and  permeated  with  an  immense  number  of 
exceedingly  fine  tubes,  starting  from  the  pulp  cavity, 
and  radiating  outwards  in  all  directions.  In  elephant 
ivory  these  tubes  are  placed  very  close  together,  and  it 
is  to  the  regularity  with  which  they  are  disposed,  their 
number,  their  small  size  and  frequent  curvature,  that 
ivory  owes  its  fine  grain,  its  almost  perfect  elasticity, 
and  the  characteristic  appearance  of  network  resembling 
engine-turning  by  which  we  are  accustomed  to  dis- 
tinguish it.  In  bone  the  tubes,  or  blood  passages,  are 
larger  and  of  a coarser  and  less  fibrous  structure. 
Scientifically,  to  quote  the  language  of  Professor  Owen, 
in  his  lecture  before  the  Society  of  Arts  in  1856,  “the 

3 


IVORIES 

name  ivory  is  now  restricted  by  the  best  anatomists 
and  physiologists  to  that  modification  of  dentine  or 
tooth  substance  which  in  transverse  sections  or  fractures 
shows  lines  of  different  colours  or  strict  proceeding  in 
the  arc  of  a circle,  and  forming  by  their  decussations 
minute  curvilinear  lozenge-shaped  spaces.”  As  a matter 
of  fact,  almost  everyone  is  aware  of  these  peculiar 
markings,  and  is  accustomed  to  be  guided  by  them  in 
determining,  for  instance,  whether  the  handles  of  cutlery 
are  ivory  or  imitation. 

Elephants’  tusks  are  the  upper  incisor  teeth  which 
are  prolonged  and  attain  enormous  development,  some 
teeth  measuring  as  much  as  eight  to  ten  feet,  and 
weighing  150  lbs.,  or  even  180  lbs.,  each.  The  curvature 
is  sometimes  equal  to  half  a circle  from  the  root  to  the 
extreme  point.  The  teeth  are  hollow  to  about  half-way 
up,  being  formed  by  layers  deposited  on  a vascular 
pulp  after  the  manner  of  teeth  generally.  When  in 
the  most  perfect  condition  ivory  should  appear,  if 
recently  cut,  of  a mellow,  warm,  transparent  tint, 
almost  as  if  soaked  in  oil,  and  with  very  little  appear- 
ance of  grain  or  fibre.  The  oil  dries  up  considerably 
by  exposure.  Asiatic  ivory  is  of  a denser  white  than 
African,  less  close  in  texture,  not  so  hard  under  the 
tools,  and  not  susceptible  of  so  fine  a polish.  The 
usual  distinction  between  the  various  qualities  is  that 
of  African  or  Asiatic.  But  perhaps  a better  and  more 
useful  one  would  be  that  of  transparent  and  opaque. 

The  finest  and  most  beautiful  kind  is  exported  from 
Pangani,  on  the  east  coast  of  Africa,  in  the  neighbour- 
hood of  Zanzibar.  It  is  known  as  green  ivory,  and  is 
probably  collected  from  the  whole  stretch  of  country 
from  here  to  the  Gaboon  in  French  Congo  on  the  west 
coast.  Throughout  this  part  of  Africa  this  green  or 
guinea  ivory  prevails,  and  is  esteemed  for  its  trans- 
parence and  the  light-yellow  or  pale-blonde  tint  dis- 
tinguishing it,  which  bleaches  after  a time.  Other 
4 


INTRODUCTORY 

i kinds,  on  the  contrary,  which  are  whiter,  become  yellow 

I with  age.  It  is  very  hard,  very  heavy,  and  of  a fine 
grain.  Cape  ivory  is  softer,  sometimes  yellowish,  some- 
times of  a dead  white.  That  of  Senegal  and  Abyssinia 
is  very  similar,  but  not  so  perfect,  and  is  less  valuable. 
There  are  several  varieties  of  East  Indian  ivory,  which, 
as  a rule,  is  very  white  indeed.  The  most  esteemed 
comes  from  Ceylon,  and  is  of  a pale  rosy  white.  That 
from  Siam  resembles  it.  Bombay  ivory  is  inferior. 

The  African  elephant  is  a distinct  species  from  the 
Asiatic,  and  some  of  the  Asiatic  elephants  of  the  larger 
islands  of  the  Indian  Archipelago  form  again  a strongly 
marked  variety.  Generally  speaking,  it  may  be  said 
that  most  ivory  imported  into  Europe  comes  from 
Africa.  Some  is  Asiatic,  but  much  which  is  shipped 
from  India  is  really  African,  coming  by  way  of  Zanzibar 
to  Bombay.  The  best  is  from  near  the  equator,  gathered 
in  stores  by  natives,  and  brought  down  to  the  coast  by 
traders  who  collect  it.  An  excellent  recent  account  of 
elephant  hunting  in  the  most  fertile  ivory  district  of 
the  world  is  that  given  of  his  expedition  by  Mr.  E.  S. 
Grogan  in  his  Cape  to  Cairo.  In  his  opinion  the 
elephant  is  rapidly  becoming  in  the  greater  part  of 
Africa  a thing  of  the  past.  The  rate  at  which  it  is 
disappearing  is  appalling.  Ten  years  ago  elephants 
swarmed  in  places  such  as  the  country  of  the  British 
South  Africa  Company,  where  now  not  one  is  to  be 
found.  Years  of  persecution  have  driven  the  survivors 
north  to  the  Congo  forests  and  the  Mivern  swamps. 
There,  and  principally  in  the  Toro  country,  in  the 
vicinity  of  Ruwenzori  and  on  the  upper  Nile,  immense 
herds  still  exist.  The  prevailing  type  of  tusk  differs 
considerably,  ranging  from  the  thick  and  heavy  ones 
of  the  Toro  district  to  those  of  the  smaller  elephants, 
which  are  long  and  thin,  in  M’boga.  The  writer  of 
the  work  whose  opinion  we  have  just  quoted  expresses 
himself  severely  on  the  licensing  system  which  prevails 

5 


IVORIES 


in  British  Africa,  and  the  wanton  destruction  of  ele- 
phants which  results  from  it. 

When  we  consider  the  enormous  drain  on  the 
supply  of  ivory  in  Africa  alone,  which  has  been  going 
on  for  centuries,  it  is  indeed  surprising  that  the  source 
has  not  long  since  been  exhausted.  The  whole  question 
is  one  which  cannot  fail  to  excite  astonishment.  To 
begin  with,  the  mere  number  of  elephants  which  roam 
over  these  territories  is  almost  beyond  calculation, 
and  the  supply  of  food  which  they  must  require  is 
enormous.  Literally,  almost,  they  represent  a forest 
of  ivory  tusks,  and  it  is  not  a forest  which  can  be 
periodically  cut  down  and  allowed  to  renew  itself  by 
growth  from  the  same  roots.  Every  pair  of  tusks 
represents  a slain  elephant.  At  the  periodical  sales 
of  ivory  in  London  parcels  of  a hundred  tons  and 
more  are  put  up  to  auction.  In  the  year  1900  the 
importation  amounted  to  11,757  cwt.,  which  represented 

60.000  tusks,  and  a value,  in  its  rough  state,  of  over 
half  a million  sterling.  For  billiard  balls  alone  the 
sales  of  one  of  the  great  London  firms  are  nearly 

10.000  tusks  a year.  In  1888  the  importation  into 
Antwerp  from  the  Congo  amounted  only  to  36,400 
kilos,  say  1,000  cwt.  In  1902  the  Congo  furnished 
to  the  same  port  380,000  kilos.  The  prices  at  this 
market  ranged  for  sound  tusks  from  22  to  25  francs 
a kilo,  and  for  ball  tusks  from  28  to  38.25  francs. 
The  greater  part  came  from  the  Congo,  but  Senegal, 
Angola,  Gaboon,  Abyssinia,  the  Cameroons,  Zanzibar, 
and  other  places  contributed  about  40,000  kilos. 
There  were  imported  besides  to  Antwerp  in  1900 
340  kilos  of  hippopotamus,  22  kilos  rhinoceros’  horns, 
and  a number  of  curiosities. 

Although,  strictly  speaking,  the  term  ivory  is  only 
applied  to  the  tusk  of  the  elephant,  we  shall  have  to 
consider  other  kinds  and  other  varieties.  In  very 
early  periods  of  the  earth’s  history  elephants  were 
6 


INTRODUCTORY 

much  more  widely  spread  over  the  globe  than  in  later 
times.  A true  elephant  roamed  in  countless  herds  over 
the  temperate  and  northern  parts  of  Europe,  Asia,  and 
America.  This  was  the  species  known  as  the  mastodon 
or  mammoth,  whose  remains  have  been  discovered  in 
various  countries,  including  our  own  island,  for  example, 
in  Essex  and  off  Dungeness.  So  late  as  the  year  1903 
a very  fine  skeleton  was  unearthed  in  Kent.  Even 
Australia,  Professor  Owen  tells  us,  appears  to  have 
had  its  huge  proboscidian  ivory-producing  quadruped. 
Great  indeed  has  been  the  number  of  species  now 
extinct,  and  as  they  were  free  from  the  hunter,  the 
quantity  of  the  valuable  material  of  ivory  that  has  been 
formed  and  has  perished  must  be  beyond  calculation. 

Mammoth  tusks  have  been  found  in  Siberia  in 
enormous  quantities  since  the  beginning  of  the 
eighteenth  century.  The  exploitation  of  the  immense 
deposits — for,  owing  to  the  climatic  conditions,  the 
ivory  has  been  preserved  in  a perfect  state — forms  at 
the  present  day  a considerable  industry.  These  deposits 
exist  throughout  Russia,  but  principally  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  the  Lena  and  other  rivers  discharging 
into  the  Arctic  Ocean.  The  attempt  to  explain  the 
vast  accumulations — the  skulls  and  entire  skeletons  of 
elephants,  rhinoceros,  bisons,  and  other  extinct  pachy- 
derms which  fill  mysteriously  the  frozen  soil — is  a 
subject  of  very  wide  interest.  They  are  cemented 
together  by  debris  of  all  kinds,  by  fossil  wood  and 
branches  of  trees  brought  down  by  the  inundations, 
for  centuries,  of  the  great  rivers,  or  as  if  at  one 
particular  period  some  frightful  cataclysm  had  over- 
whelmed a vast  extent  of  country,  and  sweeping 
everything  before  it,  had  collected  and  driven  together 
in  one  tangled  mass,  gathering  its  accumulations  as 
it  proceeded,  every  living  object  which  then  existed  in 
the  greater  part  of  northern  Europe.  For  nearly  two 
centuries  these  vast  deposits  of  antediluvian  animals 

7 


IVORIES 

have  been  worked  for  the  ivory  which  they  contain. 
The  store  appears  to  be  as  inexhaustible  as  a coal-field, 
and  it  may  be  that  when  the  supply  of  African  ivory 
ceases,  as  some  day  it  surely  will,  we  shall  be  indebted 
to  these  mines  for  a source  upon  which  we  can  still  i 
draw  for  this  beautiful  material. 

The  mammoth  was  a distinct  species  of  elephant, 
as  may  be  seen  from  the  skeletons  and  remains  pre- 
served in  the  museum  of  the  academy  at  St.  Peters- 
burg. It  was  a hairy  animal,  protected  in  this  way 
by  a shaggy  coat  against  a very  different  climate  from 
that  in  which  his  African  brother  has  lived  and 
flourished.  Complete  bodies  have  been  found  in  a 
perfect  state  of  preservation,  exposed  by  the  breaking 
up  of  the  ice  in  summer,  or  subsequently  washed  down 
by  floods.  Sometimes  the  ivory  has  become  entirely 
disintegrated  into  a chalk-like  matter.  The  tusks  are 
longer  and  more  slender  than  those  of  the  African 
elephant.  They  have  a bolder  and  more  extensive 
curvature,  approaching  closer  together  at  the  root,  and 
spreading  out  laterally,  like  two  great  scythes,  in  the 
same  horizontal  plane,  instead  of  foiavards  and  up- 
wards. Some  have  been  found  of  enormous  develop- 
ment— as  long  as  twelve  feet  and  weighing  200  lbs. 
Holtzapfel  tells  us  of  one  cut  up  in  England  for  piano 
keys  which  weighed  186  lbs.  A mammoth  tusk  quite 
recently  found  on  the  island  of  New  Siberia,  in  the  I 
Arctic  Ocean,  off  the  shores  of  Siberia,  measuring  ' 
thirteen  feet  long  and  two  feet  in  diameter  in  the 
thickest  part  and  220  lbs.  in  weight,  is  now  in  the 
American  Museum,  New  York. 

Other  considerable  sources  of  ivory  from  which 
come  many  of  the  examples  which  we  shall  presently 
consider  are  the  teeth  of  the  hippopotamus  and  the 
tusks  of  the  walrus.  Hippo  ivory  is  denser,  and  has 
a closer  grain  than  elephant  ivory,  and  as  the  tusks  are 
hollow,  there  is  little  solid  material.  It  is  consequently 
8 


INTRODUCTORY 

available  only  for  small  work.  It  is  also  of  a purer 
white,  not  liable  to  split,  and  of  a texture  which  may 
be  called  something  between  ivory  proper  and  pearl 
shell.  Mor.se,  or  walrus,  ivory  is  from  the  long  tusks 
which  hang  perpendicularly  downwards  from  the  upper 
jaw  of  the  sea-cow,  troops  of  which  exist  along  the  icy 
coasts  of  the  north  seas.  It  was  used  by  oriental 
nations — by  the  Persians  almost  exclusively  for  sword 
grips — and  we  shall  find  it  frequently  employed  for  early 
chessmen  and  Scandinavian  caskets.  It  is  even  now 
an  important  part  of  the  trade  of  Archangel.  The 
single  tooth,  or  defence,  of  the  narwhale  supplies  also 
a fine  description  of  ivory.  It  is  rarely  worked,  as  it 
is  generally  kept  as  a curio  in  its  natural  condition. 

In  reviewing  the  art  of  sculpture  in  ivory,  we  shall 
have  to  notice  first  the  work  of  a very  remote  period. 
We  shall  pass  from  the  days  of  the  Assyrian  empire, 
of  the  civilisation  of  ancient  Egypt,  of  Greece  and  of 
Rome,  to  early  Christian  times.  From  the  establish- 
ment of  Christianity  and  the  domination  of  the  Roman 
empire  in  the  west,  and  in  Byzantium,  we  shall  come 
to  the  centuries  of  pre-gothic  and  gothic  art,  and, 
finally,  we  shall  trace  the  decline  from  the  golden  age 
of  the  renaissance  through  the  rococo  period  down  to 
our  own  day.  Of  the  practical  and  commercial  uses  of 
ivory  in  more  modern  times  it  will  not  be  necessary  to 
say  very  much.  It  is  for  the  most  part  restricted  in 
this  way  to  cutlery  handles,  walking-sticks,  umbrellas, 
fans,  combs,  paper-knives,  chess  and  draughts  men, 
billiard  balls,  and  other  applications,  in  none  of  which, 
unhappily,  is  any  call  made  for  the  exercise  of  artistic 
talent. 

The  history  of  ivory  carving  goes  back  to  the  most 
remote  antiquity.  Centuries  before  the  Christian  era 
we  can  point  to  examples  in  the  days  of  the  earliest 
dynasties  of  Assyria  and  Egypt.  Earlier  still  than 
these  far  distant  days  we  shall  be  confronted  with  the 

9 


IVORIES 

artists — for  so  we  may  call  them — of  those  prehistoric 
epochs  which  we  are  accustomed  to  term  the  stone  or 
bronze  ages.  It  will  not  be  by  conjecture  merely,  but 
with  actual  examples  in  our  hands,  that  we  shall  com- 
mence the  chain,  and  pass  from  a period  of  which  no 
written  history  exists  to  such  comparatively  modern 
times  as  those  of  which  the  records  are  the  Holy 
Scriptures,  and  we  shall  be  able  to  illustrate  the 
allusions  and  records  by  objects  in  ivory  discovered 
amongst  the  mounds  and  ruins  of  the  cities  which  are 
there  mentioned. 

Ivory  seems  to  have  held  an  honoured  place  in  the 
adornment  of  the  palaces  of  the  great  in  all  ages,  for 
the  rich  inlay  of  the  ceilings  and  walls,  and  for  the 
making  of  even  small  objects  of  decorative  use  to 
which  the  most  renowned  artists  did  not  disdain  to 
apply  their  skill.  The  whiteness  and  purity  of  this 
beautiful  material  fitted  it  to  be  a distinctive  ornament 
of  royal  dignity,  and  especially  was  it  appropriate  for 
the  thrones  and  sceptres  of  rulers  and  potentates. 
There  seems  to  have  been  a passion  for  its  employment. 
The  Roman  senate  sent  to  Porsenna  a throne  of  ivory, 
as,  indeed,  in  our  own  times  we  find  a great  Indian 
prince  sending  on  the  occasion  of  the  exhibition  of 
1851  an  ivory  throne  to  Queen  Victoria.  For  musical 
instruments,  such  as  the  lyre,  for  chariots,  harness, 
beds,  chairs,  tables,  and  other  costly  articles  of  furniture, 
ivory  was  extensively  employed.  A celebrated  car  in 
the  museum  at  Florence  has  the  linch-pins  tipped  with 
ivory.  Even  in  its  natural  condition  the  unworked 
tusk  formed  part  of  the  offerings  in  temples.  The 
cover  of  a small  ivory  box  in  the  Louvre  is  inscribed 
with  the  name  and  royal  tablet  of  Merien-ra,  found  in 
the  upper  line  of  the  tablet  of  Abydos,  and  attributed 
to  the  fifth  dynasty.  In  the  time  of  Thothmes  III. 
ivory  was  imported  in  considerable  quantities  into 
Egypt  in  boats  laden  with  ivory  and  ebony  from  Nubia 
10 


INTRODUCTORY 

I and  Abyssinia.  Hence,  as  Herodotus  tells  us,  came 
! most  of  the  ivory  used  in  Egypt,  though  their  elephants 
were  originally  from  Asia,  And,  again,  we  learn  from 
I Diodorus  Siculus  that  these  Ethiopians  brought  to 
I Sesostris  ebony  and  gold,  and  the  teeth  of  elephants 
I and  twenty  large  tusks,  as  tribute  to  the  Persian  king. 

! So  plentiful  was  it,  according  to  Pliny,  that  the  natives 
I used  it  for  door-posts,  fencing  and  stalls  for  cattle,  as, 

I in  fact,  the  horrible  things  from  Benin  in  the  British 
I Museum  show  that  they  still  continue  to  do.  In  Greece 
the  trappings  of  horses  were  studded  with  ivory  {Iliad, 
V.  584),  the  bosses  of  shields  and  the  handles  of  keys 
’ {Odyss.y  xxi.  7).  The  chryselephantine  statues  made  by 
: Phidias  and  his  contemporaries  were  renowned,  and  we 
j shall  have  occasion  again  to  refer  to  them  later  on.  Over 
! and  over  again  in  nearly  all  the  classical  writers  allusions 
i abound. 

The  Hebrews  knew  the  elephant  from  its  ivory  only, 
which  was  an  important  article  of  commerce.  In  their 
days  a great  traffic  was  carried  on  with  Assyria,  and  as 
Assyrian  conquests  extended,  vast  quantities  were 
poured  in  for  the  adornment  of  the  palaces  of  their 
luxurious  cities.  The  Scriptures  teem  with  references 
to  the  use  of  ivory,  to  its  beauty  and  value,  and  the 
high  esteem  in  which  it  was  held.  It  was  indeed  “ a 
noble  substance  for  noble  works.”  Most  familiar  of  all 
is  the  reference  to  the  great  ivory  throne,  overlaid  with 
pure  gold,  made  for  King  Solomon  by  the  skilled  work- 
men of  Hiram,  king  of  Tyre — “ there  was  not  the  like 
made  in  any  kingdom” — and  we  learn  that  the  ivory 
came  by  the  caravans  of  Dedan.  “The  men  of  Dedan 
were  thy  merchants ; . . . they  brought  thee  for  a present 
horns  of  ivory  and  ebony”  (Ezek.  xxvii.  15).  “Once 
in  three  years  came  the  navy  of  Tharshish,  bringing 
gold,  and  silver,  ivory,  and  apes,  and  peacocks”  (i  Kings 
X.  22).  And,  again,  “the  company  of  the  Ashurites 
made  thy  benches  of  ivory,  brought  out  of  the  isles 


IVORIES 

of  Chittim  ” (Ezek.  xxvii.  6).  And,  then,  the  ivory 
house  which  Ahab  made,  and  horns  of  ivory  and  ebony 
(Ezekiel),  and  “those  that  lie  on  beds  of  ivory”  (Amos 
vi.  4).  Many  are  the  poetic  allusions  to  its  beauty  and 
smoothness  and  brightness.  In  the  Song  of  Solomon 
the  “ ivory  overlaid  with  sapphire,”  and  the  expression 
“ Tower  of  ivory,”  still  used  daily  in  the  litany  of  the 
Catholic  Church. 

When  we  consider  the  thousands  of  vases  of  fragile 
materials,  especially  those  of  the  finest  periods  of 
Greek  art  which  have  been  preserved  to  us,  and  are 
now  spread  throughout  the  museums  of  Europe,  it  is 
curious  that  there  should  be  comparatively  so  few 
remains  of  the  less  fragile  ivory.  The  reason  may  be 
that  though  in  itself  it  was  of  no  great  intrinsic  value, 
it  was  destroyed  for  the  sake  of  the  precious  metals 
or  other  materials  with  which  it  was  associated.  Of 
Roman  work  before  the  time  of  Constantine  examples 
of  importance  are  so  scarce  that  they  might  almost  be 
counted  on  the  fingers.  We  shall  note,  however, 
amongst  these  few  some  very  celebrated  pieces,  one  of 
them,  in  the  museum  at  Kensington,  perhaps  the  finest 
in  existence,  a typical  example  of  the  diptychs  for 
private  purposes  of  the  third  century.  The  British 
Museum  possesses  many  small  fragments  of  no  little 
interest  in  relation  to  domestic  habits  of  the  time  of 
the  Roman  empire,  and,  from  time  to  time — though 
certainly  such  occurrences  are  of  extreme  rarity — small 
objects  of  the  period  of  the  Roman  occupation  of  our 
country  turn  up  in  barrows  and  other  excavations.  A 
notable  instance  is  that  of  the  plaque  and  the  ivory 
mask  found  at  Caerleon.  But  if  up  to  the  fourth 
century  such  things  are  scarce,  from  that  date  onward 
the  chain  of  examples  is  unbroken,  and  it  would  be 
impossible  to  estimate  their  value  too  highly,  either 
as  regards  the  history  of  art,  or  as  pictures  and  sources 
of  information. 


12 


INTRODUCTORY 

I Of  the  classical  period  we  have  works  of  stone  and 
1 marble  in  abundance,  and  then  the  Christian  sarcophagi 
j continue  the  line,  and  bring  us  down  to  the  fourth  or 
' fifth  century.  From  that  time,  for  five  or  six  hundred 
I years,  the  history  of  art  shows  default.  In  England, 
for  instance,  we  have  only  in  sculpture  the  figures  in 
I church  architecture,  and  of  these  nothing  earlier  than 
about  the  twelfth  century. 

Apart  from  any  intrinsic  beauty  which  our  ivories 
may  possess,  there  is  nothing  more  striking  than  the 
manner  in  which  they  permit  us  to  fill  the  void  in  the 
I illustration  of  the  development  of  art  which  occurs  in 
^ these  centuries  of  unrest  and  strife  which  we  are  ac- 
i customed  to  term  the  dark  ages — from  about  the  fifth 
I to  the  tenth  or  eleventh  centuries  after  Christ — and  to 
j supply  for  those  times  the  complete  absence  of  monu- 
i mental  sculpture,  and  the  default  in  every  description 
I of  learning  and  art.  It  is  to  the  durability  and  com- 
j paratively  small  intrinsic  value  of  this  semi-precious 
I material  that  we  owe  the  uninterrupted  preservation  of 
I types  and  traditions  from  classic  times  to  the  re- 
naissance. During  the  long  period  of  time  which 
elapsed  from  the  decline  of  the  Roman  empire  in  the 
fifth  century  to  the  beginnings  of  the  gothic  revival, 
about  the  eleventh  or  twelfth,  a thick  veil  covers  the 
history  of  art  in  central  Europe.  Of  these  ages  little 
exists  except  a small  number  of  miniatures  in  illu- 
minated manuscripts,  and  a certain  quantity  of  objects 
in  the  precious  metals,  fortunate  survivors  of  the 
melting-pot.  For  at  least  four  hundred  years  it  may 
be  said  that,  ivories  apart,  we  really  possess  no  authentic 
records.  Buildings  and  the  vast  quantities  of  works  of 
sculpture  which  they  contained  have  been  for  the  most 
part  destroyed.  But  during  these  same  ages  ivory 
carvings  have  come  down  to  us  in  considerable 
quantities.  From  these,  almost  alone,  are  we  able  to 
compile  a chronological  table  of  the  progress  and 

13 


IVORIES 

history,  of  the  manners  and  customs,  the  domestic  arts, 
the  costume  and  daily  life  of  those  times.  Nearly 
every  other  source  of  information  is  closed,  and  we  are 
left  to  mere  conjecture. 

One  of  the  most  important  periods  in  the  history 
of  ivory  sculpture — and  incidentally,  therefore,  in  the 
history  of  art  generally — will  be  that  of  the  connection 
of  the  great  empires  of  the  east  and  west ; of  Rome 
and  of  Constantinople  ; and  the  natural  influence 
exerted  by  the  art  of  the  east  upon  that  of  the  west 
will  form  not  the  least  interesting  subject  of  our 
observation.  In  the  eastern  empire,  under  the  happy 
influences  of  the  long  and  glorious  reign  of  Justinian 
(a.d.  527-63),  a considerable  manifestation  of  artistic 
talent  went  on,  and  maintained  at  that  time,  and  for 
long  after,  the  authority  of  classic  models  and  traditions. 
About  the  middle  of  his  reign,  however,  ivory  sculpture 
shows  marked  evidence  of  decadence,  and  the  decline 
becomes  still  more  marked  two  centuries  later,  when 
iconoclastic  troubles  and  the  spirit  of  abhorrence  in 
which  all  sorts  of  images  and  their  designers  and 
workers  were  held  arose.  The  destruction  of  works 
of  art  of  all  kinds  by  Christian  iconoclasts,  under  the 
Emperor  Leo  in  the  eighth  century,  was  furious  and 
unsparing,  and  the  persecution  lasted  a hundred  years. 
The  greatest  excesses  were,  of  course,  in  the  east. 
For  this  reason  the  west  benefited,  for  many  works  of 
art  were  transferred  thither  for  their  preservation,  and 
in  this  way  new  models  were  available,  and  a devotion 
to,  and  culture  of,  art  followed,  which  caused  the 
foundation  of  new  schools,  and  the  naturalisation  of 
the  workmen  and  refugees,  who  found  shelter  and 
employment  amongst  new  surroundings.  To  this  in- 
fusion of  exotic  ideas  we  owe  the  style  which  we  term 
Byzantine.  At  the  period  of  its  highest  development 
in  the  eastern  empire — from  the  time  of  Basil  the 
Macedonian,  who  restored  the  use  of  images  in  the 
14 


INTRODUCTORY 

eighth  century,  up  to  the  most  prosperous  times  of 
the  empire  in  the  eleventh — it  was  natural  that  as  the 
I best  artists  of  Constantinople  emigrated  to  the  west, 

! Italy,  Germany,  France,  and  England  should  be  in- 
; fluenced,  and  borrow  largely  from  them.  In  the  east 
I artistic  culture  degenerated,  disquiet,  wars,  and  general 
i unrest  prevailed,  the  emperors  had  no  time  to  attend 
I to  the  arts,  and  at  last,  in  1204,  came  the  sack  of  the 
! imperial  city  itself,  and  doubtless  the  destruction  of 
incomparable  treasures. 

For  wealth  of  detail  and  for  their  exquisite  beauty 
of  expression  it  will  be  to  the  sculptures  in  ivory  of  the 
gothic  art  of  the  thirteenth,  fourteenth,  and  fifteenth 
centuries  that  we  shall  turn  with  the  greatest  interest, 
not  only  to  those  examples  of  religious  art  which  were 
so  touchingly  conceived  and  executed,  but  also  to  the 
many  objects  of  domestic  use  and  ornament  which  will 
bring  home  to  us  in  a vivid  manner  the  most  intimate 
details  of  the  life,  the  religion,  the  costumes,  amuse- 
ments, and  habits  of  the  people. 

Up  to  about  the  fourteenth  century  the  influence  of 
the  Church  was  predominant  in  all  matters  relating  to 
art.  Religion  formed  the  chief  interest  of  people’s 
lives.  All  that  was  most  beautiful  and  costly  in 
material  was  applied  to  the  decoration  of  sacred 
edifices  and  the  shrines  connected  with  them.  Art 
was  the  monopoly  of  religion,  and,  so  far,  at  least, 
as  our  immediate  subject  is  concerned,  it  would  be 
difficult  to  find  a dozen  examples  of  decorative  sculp- 
ture during  the  long  lapse  of  time  from  the  days  of 
Constantine  almost  up  to  the  twelfth  century  the  sub- 
jects of  which  are  other  than  sacred  ones.  Innumer- 
able are  the  objects  for  private  devotion  and  for  use  in 
the  services  of  the  Church,  to  which,  in  a succeeding 
chapter,  considerable  space  will  be  devoted.  Prominent 
amongst  such  things,  the  statuettes  and  groups  of  the 
Virgin  and  her  divine  Son  stand  out  almost  as  a class 

15 


IVORIES 

apart.  Naturally,  and  yet  not  realistically  treated,  it 
would  be  hard  to  exceed  the  grace  and  beauty,  the 
refinement,  and  absolutely  religious  and  Christian  feel- 
ing which  are  manifested  in  many  of  these  admirable 
figures.  There  is  a certain  mannerism  about  them,  no 
doubt,  but  they  are  full  of  suggestion  and  delicacy. 
It  is  not  to  be  wondered  at  that  the  evolution  of  re- 
ligious idealism  through  many  centuries  found  its 
highest  expression  in  work  which  was  done  not  for 
sordid  reasons  but  from  the  enthusiasm  of  true  piety. 
From  such  motives  came  the  creation  of  a spiritual 
type,  the  noble  expression  of  innate  and  fervent  de- 
votion. Nor,  again,  are  the  simplicity,  the  absolute 
life  and  vigour  of  movement  of  these  figures  the  only 
things  which  will  call  for  our  admiration.  Charming 
also  is  the  elegance  of  treatment  in  the  expression  of 
the  draperies.  They  are  not  wholly  realistic,  not  wholly 
conventional,  not  a copy  of  classical  methods,  for  in  all 
probability  it  would  be  rarely  that  the  artist  had  access 
to  actual  models — they  are,  rather,  an  evolution  and 
adaptation  from  examples  of  the  finest  periods  of  Greek 
art  filtered  through  Byzantine  mannerisms  to  the  type 
which  distinguishes  the  work  of  gothic  times. 

One  of  the  most  controverted  questions  concerning 
these  delightful  objects  of  the  thirteenth  and  fourteenth 
centuries  is,  in  many  cases,  that  of  their  country  of 
origin.  Any  nationality  does  and  may  claim  them, 
and  though  we  shall  often  find  some  difficulty  in  being 
absolutely  precise  and  certain,  still  the  inquiry  itself 
and  the  attempt  at  solution  have  attractions  of  their 
own  which  add  to  our  interest.  It  will  be  admitted 
that  in  these  periods  the  preponderance  of  French 
work  is  very  great.  We  hardly  ever  come  across  a 
piece  of  the  highest  class  to  which  French  origin  is 
not,  rightly  as  a rule,  attributed.  But  we  must  re- 
member that  there  was  in  those  days,  as  there  is 
now,  a considerable  interchange  of  artists  between  the 

i6 


INTRODUCTORY 

various  countries.  In  the  fourteenth  and  fifteenth 
j centuries  Flemish  artists,  especially,  worked  for  the 
courts  of  Savoy,  and  were  to  be  found  elsewhere  also. 
There  will  always  be  a certain  distinction  between  the 
work  which  imported  labour  produces  from  its  own 
genius  and  that  which  it  forms  under  the  direction  of 
native  artists  or  to  suit  the  tastes  of  its  patrons.  There 
must  be  also  a give-and-take  and  mutual  appreciation 
of  styles.  We  shall  be  aided,  however,  in  many  cases 
by  a certain  accepted  type  of  form  or  expression,  not 
necessarily  the  national  type  of  the  country  concerned, 
but  one  which  has  become  the  usual  and  favourite  one. 
So  also  with  the  disposition  and  flow  of  the  draperies. 
The  actual  costume  of  the  period  will  not  always  be 
decisive  of  the  date  or  even  the  nationality,  but  the 
treatment  of  it  will  have  generally  a style  or  cachet  of 
its  own  which  will  form  for  us  a not  unreliable  guide. 

Not  only  as  to  dates  and  countries  do  difficulties 
exist,  but  it  is  also  not  easy  always  to  diagnose  tran- 
sitions of  style,  for  instance,  from  romanesque  to 
gothic. 

In  default  of  the  names  of  the  actual  artists  who 
executed  these  beautiful  works — for,  perhaps  with  one 
exception,  the  identity  of  no  single  one  has  come  down 
to  us — it  is  interesting  to  speculate  on  the  probable 
manner  in  which  they  were  produced.  When  we 
consider  the  comparatively  large  number  which  still 
exist,  it  is  evident  that  they  must  have  been  made 
in  considerable  quantities.  Were  there  factories  or 
studios,  so  to  speak  ? Were  there  numbers  of  special- 
ists, each  for  his  own  particular  class  of  work  ? May 
we  not  take  it  that  every  monastery  had  its  work- 
shop for  carvings  in  ivory  in  the  same  way  as  to  this 
day,  in  Russia,  we  find  that  numberless  small  wood- 
carvings  and  paintings  are  produced?  Was  it,  perhaps, 
sometimes  the  distraction,  in  his  leisure  moments,  of 
what  we  should  now  call  the  amateur ; or  of  the 
c 17 


IVORIES 

villager,  during  the  long  winter  evenings,  as  again 
we  find  in  Russia  amongst  the  small  farmer  class  ? 
We  must  recollect  that  a feeling  for  art  was  more 
universal  in  those  days,  and  also  how  the  Church  and 
everything  connected  with  its  devotions  and  its  teach- 
ings entered  into  the  daily  and  hourly  life  of  every 
member  of  the  community.  There  were  practically  no 
books,  except  those  on  religious  subjects,  and  then 
only  for  the  wealthy;  no  other  pictures,  except  religious 
ones  which,  for  the  most  part,  were  in  the  costly 
illuminated  manuscripts.  Such  things,  then,  as  these 
small  tablets,  these  diptychs  and  triptychs,  and  portable 
shrines,  were  the  literature  of  the  people,  or  at  least  the 
text-books  from  which  they  were  taught.  They  were, 
it  may  be  said,  the  illustrated  catechisms  of  the  time, 
and  could  be  read  and  understood  as  the  hieroglyphics 
of  Egypt  were  read. 

In  the  series  of  ivory  carvings  we  find  if  not 

every,  at  least  every  principal,  event  of  the  Old  and 

New  Testaments.  Doubtless  they  were  used  for 

instruction  as  well  as  ornament,  and,  in  this  way,  when 
the  art  of  reading  was  an  accomplishment  of  the  few, 
would  have  formed,  for  centuries,  the  Bible  of  the 

unlearned.*  And  when  we  consider  the  extensive 
range  of  subjects  selected,  it  is  not  unreasonable  to 
conclude  that  nothing  of  the  Scriptures  which  was 

* The  question  of  the  condition  of  learning  in  the  later  middle  ages  is 
important  and  interesting.  The  references  made  above  must  therefore  be  con- 
sidered as  generally  applicable  only  to  the  mass  of  the  people.  It  is  unquestion- 
able that  monasteries,  convents  of  nuns,  and  other  religious  houses,  were  hives 
of  learning,  and  books  were  by  no  means  rare  within  their  precincts.  On  the 
contrary,  every  great  ecclesiastical  establishment  throughout  Christian  Europe 
possessed  its  own  library,  and  books  were  copied  in  vast  numbers.  The  duty 
of  teaching  the  people  the  rudiments  of  their  faith  in  the  vulgar  tongue,  and  of 
providing  books  for  the  purpose,  was  enforced  on  all  priests.  It  has  been  said, 
indeed,  that  taking  into  account  the  relative  population  of  England  during  the 
two  periods,  there  were  more  people  who  could  read  two  hundred  years  before 
the  Reformation  than  two  hundred  years  after.  No  one  has  testified  more  ably 
to  the  position  of  this  important  question  than  such  an  unprejudiced  writer  as 
Dr.  Maitland,  in  his  valuable  work,  the  Dark  Ages  (see  also  Monumenta 
Ritualia,  Oxford  edition,  iii.  li.). 

I8 


INTRODUCTORY 

valuable  for  instruction  was  withheld  from  the  people. 
Many  favourite  subjects  are  repeated  over  and  over 
again,  and  the  same  traditions  of  types  preserved. 
Many  were  the  legends,  also,  that  the  artists  seized 
upon;  very  popular  the  life  of  the  Virgin,  and  touching 
indeed  the  representation  of  her  death.  The  more 
these  beautiful  scenes  are  studied  the  more  their 
fascination  grows  upon  us.  Not  unfrequently  the 
holy  personages — with  the  exception  always  of  our 
Lord  Himself — are  in  the  costumes  of  the  period. 
Added  to  this  are  the  charm,  the  simplicity,  and,  as 
it  must  be  conjectured,  the  deliberately  chosen  con- 
ventionalism of  the  manner  in  which  the  pictures  are 
executed.  If  to  the  unaccustomed  eye  there  may 
appear,  at  first  sight,  a grotesque  exaggeration  of  pro- 
portions and  a wanton  distortion  of  perspective,  the 
aim  is  distinctly  decorative,  the  arrangement  of  the 
composition  is  always  harmonious  and  true  to  the  rules 
of  balance. 

Until  about  the  end  of  the  thirteenth  century 
religious  subjects  alone  exercised  the  imagination  of 
the  artists,  but  in  the  fourteenth  the  influence  of  the 
romantic  literature  of  the  period  began  to  assert  itself, 
and  its  illustration  became  almost  as  general  as  had 
been  that  of  religious  legends  and  scriptural  stories. 
Deeds  of  chivalry,  scenes  of  the  chase  or  of  the  tourna- 
ment-field, characters  from  the  mediaeval  chronicles  and 
romances  so  popular  in  those  days,  form  now  the  texts. 
Thus  we  are  able  to  follow,  for  a time,  the  more  ordinary 
story  of  human  life  in  its  most  familiar  aspects,  and  in 
reviewing  the  best  examples  of  ivory  work  applied  to 
objects  of  domestic  use — to  arms  and  armour,  and  the 
furniture  of  the  house  or  of  the  table — we  shall  have 
vividly  brought  before  us  the  costumes,  manners, 
sports  and  amusements  of  the  most  interesting  period 
of  the  middle  ages.  In  the  decoration  of  caskets, 
and  especially  of  mirror  cases,  there  is  one  subject  of 

19 


IVORIES 

frequent  occurrence  which  will  lead  us  to  consider  a very 
important  class  of  ivory  carving.  This  is  the  illustra- 
tion of  people  playing  chess  or  draughts.  In  all  times 
of  which  examples  of  chessmen  have  come  down  to  us 
ivory  seems  to  have  been  naturally  the  favourite 
material  of  which  the  figures  were  made.  Their  history 
is  therefore  entitled  to  special  consideration,  and  an 
important  chapter  will  be  allotted  to  it. 

The  period  of  the  renaissance  and  the  return  to 
classical  ideas  bring  us  in  contact  with  a time  when 
we  shall  have  to  look  at  sculpture  in  ivory  with 
feelings  other  than  those  by  which  we  have  till  then 
been  guided.  Whatever  may  have  been  the  glory  and 
magnificence  of  the  many  forms  of  art  of  that  time,  it 
must  be  admitted  that  that  of  ivory  carving  declined. 
With  rare  exceptions,  from  one  cause  or  another,  it 
became  neglected.  We  may  still  be  able  to  find 
examples  which  can  hold  their  own  with  other  artistic 
productions,  but  in  a general  way  we  shall  have  to 
admit  the  decadence.  There  is  a loss  of  that  high 
feeling,  simplicity,  and  delicacy  which  had  characterised 
the  work  of  earlier  periods.  There  is  instead  a banality 
in  subject  and  in  treatment,  and,  finally,  as  we  approach 
our  own  times  ivory  carving  is  no  longer  worthy  to  be 
classed  as  a fine  art.  It  becomes  a trade,  and  is  entirely 
in  the  hands  of  the  mechanic  of  the  workshop.  Of  the 
revival  in  the  twentieth  century,  of  which  signs  were 
shown  in  the  last  decade  of  the  preceding  one,  some 
account  will  be  given. 


20 


CHAPTER  II 


PREHISTORIC  IVORIES 
OME  comparatively  recent  discoveries  in  the 


habitations  of  the  cave-dwellers  of  prehistoric 


ages  in  the  department  of  the  Dordogne  in 
France,  and  also  in  Switzerland,  enable  us  to  begin 
our  notices  of  carvings  in  ivory  at  so  remote  an  epoch 
in  the  history  of  the  world,  that  we  cannot  assign  to 
these  objects  a more  precise  date  or  period  than  the 
conjectural  ones  given  by  geologists  to  the  earliest 
inhabitants  of  the  earth  of  which  any  traces  have  been 


found. 


About  the  middle  of  the  last  century  a systematic 
investigation  of  the  cave-dwellings  in  the  neighbour- 
hood of  Perigord  was  carried  out  by  distinguished 
palaeontologists,  and  their  discoveries  included  a certain 
number  of  worked  fragments  of  bone  and  ivory,  not 
only  scratched  on  or  engraved  with  patterns,  such  as 
are  often  found  on  the  implements  and  ornaments  of 
uncivilised  races,  but  actually  chiselled  and  incised 
with  designs  of  a description  which  it  is  impossible  to 
avoid  characterising  as  absolutely  artistic  in  conception 
and  execution. 

It  is  especially  in  the  valley  of  the  Vesere,  a 
tributary  of  the  Dordogne,  that  these  remains  exist 
in  the  greatest  abundance.  In  it  and  in  some  of  its 
lateral  branches  have  been  found  the  resting-places  of 
those  early  inhabitants  of  the  earth  whom  we  are 


IVORIES 

accustomed,  from  want  of  data,  to  group  in  a general 
manner  as  of  the  stone,  bronze,  or  iron  ages.  And 
these  peoples,  as  we  shall  presently  see,  may  add  yet 
another  classification,  for  without  any  pretensions  to 
be  precise  in  scientific  phraseology,  we  may  allude  to 
them  as  of  the  reindeer  age.  The  rivers  in  the 
Dordogne  run  in  deep  valleys,  cut  through  the  cal- 
careous strata.  Overhanging  the  villages  and  the 
smiling  plains  of  cultivated  land  of  the  present  day 
are  picturesque  cliffs  which  abound  in  the  small  caves, 
called  grottes,  which  were  formerly  the  dwellings  of  the 
interesting  people  whose  handiwork  we  shall  presently 
consider. 

The  investigations  of  the  geologists  who  have 
carried  on  the  excavations  have  resulted  in  the  dis- 
covery of  a vast  number  of  objects,  ranging  from  the 
skulls  and  skeletons  of  the  inhabitants  themselves  to 
their  implements  of  domestic  use,  their  ornaments, 
their  arms,  and  weapons  of  the  chase.  With  all  of 
these,  of  course,  we  shall  not  be  directly  concerned,  but 
amongst  them  there  are  fragments  of  reindeer  horn 
and  of  tusks  of  the  mammoth.  These  animals,  in 
those  early  times,  had  not  entirely  disappeared  from 
southern  Europe,  and  it  is  the  ornamentation  on  the 
bone  and  ivory  fragments  which  will  arrest  our 
attention  in  a striking  manner. 

The  principal  caves  which  have  been  investigated 
are  at  Les  Eyzies  and  La  Madelaine,  about  eighteen 
miles  from  Perigord,  in  Dordogne.  At  these  two 
places  worked  ivory  has  been  met  with  ; at  Laugerie 
Basse  a portion  of  the  pelvis  of  the  elephant  itself,  and 
in  all  three  a quantity  of  fragments  of  various  bones 
and  horns  and  other  remains,  including  those  of  the 
mammoth,  reindeer,  great  bear,  great  Irish  deer,  auroch, 
and  horse,  cut  in  various  shapes,  engraved  in  outline, 
and  chased  with  figures  of  animals  of  extraordinary 
vigour  of  execution.  The  question  of  the  co-existence 
22 


PREHISTORIC  IVORIES 

of  man  with  the  reindeer  and  mammoth  in  these 
southern  regions  is,  of  course,  of  the  highest  importance 
in  our  efforts  to  place  a limit  of  time  in  respect  to  the 
earliest  period  of  man’s  appearance  on  earth.  We  have 
evidence  of  this  appearance  in  the  heaps  of  the  bones 
of  these  animals  cracked  for  the  marrow  which  they 
contained,  and  in  the  traces  on  them  of  the  hand  of 
man  as  he  cut  away  the  skin  and  flesh  to  serve  in  his 
primitive  cooking.  Further  than  this,  it  is  still  more 
interesting  to  find  engraved  or  chased  in  relief  on  the 
horn  of  the  reindeer  most  spirited  representations  of 
the  animal  itself.  An  actual  sculpture  of  an  elephant 
in  reindeer  horn  was  found  in  1864  in  the  neighbour- 
hood of  Perigord,  and  the  evidence  that  it  was 
modelled  from  life  is  unmistakable.  There  are  the 
thick  legs  with  large  flat  feet,  the  trunk,  the  mouth, 
and  the  tusks.  A cast  from  the  original  is  in  the 
Musee  de  St.  Germain  at  Paris. 

Amongst  these  fragments  certainly  the  most  striking 
of  all  is  a piece  of  a reindeer’s  antler  representing  the 
head  and  shoulders  of  an  ibex,  carved  with  a life  and 
understanding  of  art  which  a sculptor  of  the  finest 
period  might  envy.  There  are  other  examples  of 
sculpture  amongst  these  remains,  but  quite  as  astonish- 
ing are  the  incised  drawings  or  sketches  on  ivory  and 
horn  or  bone  and  on  pieces  of  slate.  An  example  of 
the  latter  is  a group  of  reindeer.  It  is  nothing  more 
than  a sketch,  drawn  with  a free  hand,  but  it  is  executed 
with  such  strength  and  precision,  the  forms,  the  gaits, 
and  the  characteristics  of  the  animals  are  given  with 
such  life  and  truth  to  nature,  that  the  whole  question 
of  cultivation  in  art  seems  to  be  raised.  The  intuitive 
knowledge  of  these  primitive  peoples,  who  in  other 
respects  perhaps  were  not  removed  from  those  of  our 
race  whom  we  are  accustomed  to  call  savages,  can  be 
compared  only  to  those  natural  geniuses  who  from 
time  to  time  appear — for  instance,  as  musical  prodigies 

23 


IVORIES 

— and  astonish  us  by  their  mastery  and  innate  com- 
prehension of  that  which  for  others,  however  gifted, 
requires  years  of  training  and  cultivation.  Again, 
when  we  consider  the  evolution  of  art  through  the 
ages  of  which  we  possess  records,  it  must  surely  be 
admitted  that  its  highest  expression  is  after  all  a 
convention,  and  not  a direct  imitation  of  nature.  Yet 
here  we  find  at  a remote  period  of  man’s  existence  on 
earth — we  cannot  speak  of  it  as  man’s  history,  for  we 
have  no  history — this  uncultivated  savage  instinctively 
adopting  a convention,  a system,  a mannerism  which 
no  previous  evolution  could  have  led  up  to ! It  may 
be  conceded  perhaps  that,  surprising  though  it  might 
be  to  find  the  imitative  faculties  of  primitive  man  so 
developed  as  to  admit  of  perfection  in  modelling  in  the 
round  in  some  plastic  material,  still  our  admiration 
and  astonishment  would  not  be  so  excited  as  when  we 
are  led  to  examine  these  examples  of  absolutely  clever 
and  artistic  sketching.  For  it  is  hardly  necessary  to 
point  out  that  the  engraved  outlines — drawn  with  such 
precision  on  a hard  and  unyielding  substance — are  not 
sketched  as  a child  would  draw  them,  nor  even  in  the 
manner  which  a sailor  uses  when  he  engraves  figures 
of  men  and  women,  ships  and  animals,  in  outline,  on 
sea-horse  teeth.  They  are  drawn  by  the  hand  of  a 
genius,  who,  in  his  way,  had  nothing  to  learn,  but 
from  whose  work  his  fellow-artists,  uncounted  genera- 
tions later,  could  derive  much  profit. 

Very  characteristic  indeed  are  these  extracts  from 
the  note-books  of  our  primitive  ancestors.  Take,  for 
example,  the  huge  form  and  gait  of  the  mammoth,  the 
graceful  and  alert  bearing  of  the  reindeer.  There  is 
no  mistaking  them  for  an  instant.  More  than  this, 
but  of  less  particular  value  from  the  point  of  view  of 
art,  in  the  specimen  of  the  ibex  carved  in  reindeer  horn 
we  have  a representation  which  is  so  precise  and  true 
that  naturalists  are  able  to  distinguish  the  species,  and 
24 


PREHISTORIC  IVORIES 

to  assign  it  to  the  ibex  of  the  Alps  rather  than  to  that 
of  the  Pyrenees.  Again,  it  must  be  remarked  that 
these  chiselled  examples  are  not  servile  imitations  in 
the  round  ; they  are  conceived  with  the  highest  feeling 
of  delicacy  and  restraint. 

It  may  be  that  these  early  artists  sometimes  chose 
by  preference  some  more  plastic  and  more  perishable 
material,  but,  happily  for  us,  they  worked  also  in  the 
hard,  unyielding  medium  of  bone  and  ivory.  Happily, 
for  it  must  be  considered  also  that  if  we  have  had  by 
chance  preserved  to  us  these  few  instances,  it  is  ex- 
tremely probable  that  they  represent  many  more  in 
the  history  of  a people  who  undoubtedly,  whatever 
their  method  of  life  might  have  been,  whether  or  no 
they  existed  under  conditions  which  to  us  would  seem 
to  indicate  extreme  discomfort  and  barbarism,  must  still 
have  possessed  more  than  the  elements  of  refinement 
and  of  practical  culture.  Who,  then,  were  they  ? 
What  do  we  know  of  them,  or  what  can  we  deduce 
from  the  investigations  of  geologists  ? Do  more 
things  perhaps  lie  buried,  whose  discovery  will  increase 
our  knowledge,  and  tell  us  more  distinctly  something 
which  may  reconcile  so  many  apparent  inconsistencies  ? 
And  what  an  hiatus  is  there  in  the  history  of  art 
between  the  epoch  of  the  cave-dwellers  and  those  later 
days,  even  the  days  of  the  civilisation  of  Egypt  and 
Assyria,  which  are  still  far  distant  from  us,  and  which 
we  reasonably  are  accustomed  to  associate  with  remote 
ages ! 

It  is  interesting  also  to  remark  that  until  the  finest 
periods  of  Greek  art,  excepting  in  the  days  of  the  splen- 
dour of  Assyria  and  ancient  Egypt,  we  have  no  records 
of  representations  of  animals  and  animal  life.  Half- 
civilised  nations  might  carve  ornaments  of  fretwork, 
spirals,  and  the  like,  such  as  we  find  up  to  the  present 
time  in  the  work  of  the  savages  of  the  south  seas,  but 
at  the  best  such  work  was  confined  to  outline.  And  so 


25 


IVORIES 

these — the  earliest  in  our  history  of  carving  in  ivory — 
are  the  earliest  also  in  the  history  of  cultured  and 
thoughtful  art : these  pictures,  these  records,  earlier 
than  the  cylinders  and  tablets  of  Assyria,  which  with 
infinite  pains  and  learning  have  been  deciphered  and 
explained  to  us.  But  the  drawings  and  sculptures 
which  we  are  now  considering  need  no  deciphering. 
So  far  as  art  and  delineation  are  concerned  they  tell 
their  own  story,  though  they  may  fill  us  with  wonder 
and  leave  us  vainly  guessing  at  the  condition  and 
period  of  civilisation  and  the  history  of  mankind  with 
which  they  are  associated. 

As  to  the  possible  date  of  these  objects  all  informa- 
tion of  which  we  are  possessed  is  vague  indeed,  and 
we  must  content  ourselves  with  conjecture  and  hypo- 
thesis. The  geologist  alone,  from  his  investigation  of 
the  changes  which  have  taken  place  in  the  earth  itself, 
and  the  palaeontologist  from  the  examination  of  human 
remains  and  the  remains  of  the  now  extinct  animals 
which  at  one  time  roamed  in  countless  numbers  over 
these  regions,  can  deduce  some  shadowy  period  in  the 
distant  ages  of  a far-off  antiquity  in  comparison  with 
which  the  building  of  the  earliest  of  the  pyramids  would 
seem,  as  it  were,  almost  of  our  own  time. 

There  are  evidences  that  these  cave-dwellers  lived 
a fairly  easy  life.  The  quantities  of  remains  of  bones 
of  deer,  wild  boar,  birds  and  fish,  show  that  food  was 
plentiful,  and  they  had  little  other  occupation  besides 
that  of  the  chase.  They  had  ample  leisure  to  occupy 
themselves  with  works  of  pleasure  and  amusement,  and 
we  may  suppose  that  they  began  first  with  the  fabrica- 
tion of  the  simple  tools  and  weapons — the  adzes,  spears, 
harpoons,  and  fish-hooks — which  they  required  for  the 
ordinary  purposes  of  domestic  life.  They  would  natur- 
ally then  proceed  to  give  these  things  more  varied  and 
ornamental  shapes,  and  finally  to  decorate  them  by 
engraving  and  chiselling  in  relief.  The  profusion  of 
26 


PREHISTORIC  IVORIES 

reindeer  was  so  great  that  one  must  imagine  they 
scarcely  went  further  for  their  principal  food,  and  the 
bones  and  antlers  furnished  them  with  sufficient 
material  for  implements  of  all  kinds.  We  find  also 
many  instances  of  the  teeth  of  animals,  such  as  the 
horse,  auroch,  wolf,  bear,  and  others,  besides  the  rein- 
deer, used  as  ornaments,  as  we  may  surmise  from  the 
holes  drilled  in  them  for  suspension.  Finally,  true  ivory, 
both  from  the  ordinary  elephant  and  the  mammoth,  was 
within  their  reach,  and  probably  in  abundance. 

The  investigations  and  deductions  of  geologists 
appear  then  to  place  this  reindeer  age  at  the  highest 
antiquity  of  all  the  prehistoric  ages.  It  is  of  course 
evident  that  the  climate  of  those  times  was  very  differ- 
ent from  that  which  characterises  southern  Europe  in 
our  own  epoch,  and  it  is  not  unreasonable  to  suppose 
that  as  the  climate  altered  the  inhabitants  found  them- 
selves gradually  compelled  to  migrate,  as  the  conditions 
of  existence  became  incompatible  with  those  to  which 
they  had  previously  been  accustomed.  Doubtless  the 
movement  was  very  gradual  and  must  have  taken  ages 
to  accomplish,  but  there  appears  to  be  a considerable 
amount  of  evidence — at  least,  there  has  been  some 
speculation — to  connect  the  cave-men  of  Perigord  with 
the  Esquimaux  of  northern  Europe.  The  identity  of 
the  form  of  the  weapons,  fishing  and  other  implements, 
the  absence  of  pottery,  the  accumulation  of  animal 
remains  in  one  spot,  the  small  stature  of  the  people, 
as  shown  by  the  skulls  and  skeletons  which  have  been 
found,  and  other  indications  seem  to  point  to  their 
having  been  driven  northwards,  together  with  the 
fauna  — the  mastodons,  grizzly  bears,  and  reindeer. 
All  this,  however,  is  naturally  pure  conjecture,  a matter 
of  palaeontological  inquiry.  It  is  unnecessary  for  our 
purpose  to  investigate  the  question  and  to  attempt  to 
be  precise  as  to  the  possible  period  of  remote  antiquity 
when  this  people  existed.  It  will  suffice  that  it  was  at 

27 


IVORIES 

a very  early  time  indeed  ; an  age  which  was  certainly 
long  before  the  days  of  the  cradle  of  civilisation  in 
Egypt. 

It  is  not  without  reason  that  we  insist  so  strongly, 
and  endeavour  to  enforce  the  realisation  of  the  extreme 
antiquity  of  these  objects.  Reference  has  already  been 
made  to  the  remarkable  manner  in  which  the  void  in 
the  history  of  art  is  for  several  centuries  almost  entirely 
filled  by  the  examples  of  carvings  in  ivory  which  have 
come  down  to  us.  Not  less  interesting  is  it  to  be  able 
to  refer  to  these  solitary  examples  of  the  art  of  probably 
the  earliest  prehistoric  times,  and  that  these  records 
should  be  of  comparatively  so  fragile  and  perishable 
a material.  But  we  may  remember  that  under  certain 
conditions — of  frost  especially — ivory  and  bone  are 
capable  of  almost  indefinite  preservation.  It  is  entirely 
a matter  of  the  surroundings.  While,  for  example, 
the  ivories  discovered  in  the  excavations  of  ancient 
Nineveh  have  been  transformed  in  most  cases  into  the 
semblance  of  decayed  or  fossilised  wood,  ebony  or 
basalt,  the  tusks  of  the  mammoth  still  lie  embedded 
in  their  icy  Siberian  prison-houses,  as  fresh  and  perfect 
as  in  the  days  when  the  animals  ceased  to  exist. 

The  first  of  these  interesting  finds  in  the  Dordogne 
caves  which  we  shall  describe  is  the  slab  of  mammoth 
ivory  discovered  at  the  Madelaine,  now  in  the  museum 
of  the  Jardin  des  Plantes.  It  is  somewhat  more  than 
nine  inches  in  length,  of  irregular  shape,  and  un- 
fortunately was  broken  at  the  time  of  the  excavation. 
It  was,  however,  shown  soon  afterwards  to  the  eminent 
palaeontologist.  Dr.  Falconer,  who  at  once  recognised 
in  the  outline  engraving  on  its  smooth  surface  the 
head  of  an  elephant.  The  trunk  and  eye  and  ear  are 
evident  at  first  glance,  and,  in  the  surrounding  vertical 
lines,  the  indication  of  a distinct  species,  that  of  the 
shaggy  or  hairy  mammoth,  is  apparent.  It  is,  of  course, 
little  more  than  a rough  sketch,  probably  made  in  an 
28 


PLATE  I PREHISTORIC  SKETCHES  AND  SCULP'I'URE  ON  IVORY  AND  BONE 


2 


I 


4 


PLATE  II  PREHISTORIC  SKETCHES  ON  HONE,  IVORV  AND  SLATE 

I,  3,  4.  FROM  THE  DORDOGNE.  2.  IBEX,  CARVED  IN  REINDEER  HORN.  5.  FROM  THAINGEN.  6.  SKETCHES  ON  SLATE 


PREHISTORIC  IVORIES 

idle  moment  without  any  intention  of  creating  anything 
for  subsequent  use,  but  even  in  such  beginnings  one 
cannot  help  recognising  a certain  force  of  interpretation 
which  is  extremely  striking.  The  group  of  reindeer 
which  forms  the  next  illustration  is  one  of  the  remark- 
able examples  of  intuitive  artistic  spirit,  to  which 
allusion  has  been  made.  It  is  drawn,  it  is  true,  on  a 
piece  of  slate,  and  is  therefore  connected  in  an  indirect 
manner  only  with  our  subject,  but  as  the  examples  in 
bone  and  ivory  are  necessarily  few,  it  may  not  be 
improper  to  supplement  them  with  instances  of  similar 
artistic  skill  by  the  same  workmen.  Here,  again,  the 
figures  are  incised  in  outline,  partly  finished,  and  mixed 
up  together  in  precisely  the  same  manner  as  a modern 
artist  would  mix  up  thumb-nail  sketches  in  his  sketch- 
book. It  is  impossible  to  help  marvelling  at  the  truth 
to  nature  displayed  in  the  lithe  and  agile  form  of  these 
animals,  their  characteristic  gait,  the  majesty  of  their 
antlers,  the  plumpness  of  their  well-fed  bodies,  and  the 
clever  touches,  as  restrained  as  in  any  work  of  modern 
times,  in  the  indication  of  the  hair  in  the  nostrils  and 
dewlap. 

Another  example,  still  more  remarkable,  perhaps, 
was  found  in  some  habitations  of  cave-dwellers  at 
Thaingen,  near  Schaffhausen,  in  Switzerland.  It  is 
engraved  on  reindeer  horn  and  represents  in  a re- 
markably truthful  manner,  and  with  extraordinary 
spirit,  a reindeer  browsing.  The  animal,  in  this  case, 
seems  poor  and  thin,  rather  tucked  up,  as  it  may  be 
said,  and  even  a pool  with  grass  growing  at  the  edges 
and  with  reflections  in  the  water  are  represented.  This 
celebrated  sketch  is  now  in  the  Rosgarten  Museum, 
Constance. 

On  another  slab  from  the  Dordogne  we  have  the 
outline  of  a glutton,  in  which  from  the  point  of  view 
of  fidelity  to  nature  no  fault  could  be  found  by  a 
naturalist.  It  is  not,  we  believe,  incorrect  to  say  that 

29 


IVORIES 

the  fact  of  the  existence  of  this  particular  species  at 
the  period  of  the  cave-dwellers  has  for  proof  solely 
this  remarkable  picture.  Other  animals  are  represented, 
carved  or  chased  on  bears’  teeth,  and  portions  of  deer 
antlers.  Such,  for  instance,  are  a bear’s  tooth  with  a 
representation  of  a seal,  and  another  with  a fish  en- 
graved upon  it,  in  which  we  recognise  without  question 
a pike.  The  teeth  are  bored  for  suspension  as  orna- 
ments, and  when  we  consider  the  distance  from  the  sea 
at  which  these  people  lived,  one  cannot  help  wondering 
with  regard  to  the  seal  how  they  became  acquainted 
with  such  an  animal. 

The  most  interesting  of  all  these  examples,  artistic- 
ally, is  the  reindeer’s  antler  carved  with  the  head  and 
shoulders  of  an  ibex.  Instances  of  human  figures  are 
not  numerous,  if  indeed  more  than  one  is  known. 
This  is  the  shoulder-blade  of  a reindeer,  found  in  the 
Madelaine  caves.  On  one  side  is  scratched  or  incised 
the  figure  of  a woman,  naked,  and  wearing  a necklace 
and  bracelet.  On  the  other  side  of  the  bone  is  the 
outline  of  a horse’s  head.  Casts  of  this  and  of  many 
others  are  in  the  British  Museum.  Many  originals  are 
in  that  of  St.  Germain-en-Laye. 


30 


CHAPTER  III 


IVORIES  FROM  THE  RUINS  OF  NINEVEH 
AND  OF  ANCIENT  EGYPT 

From  the  consideration  of  the  interesting  ex- 
amples of  the  work  of  our  prehistoric  ancestors, 
we  must  allow  the  lapse  of  a number  of  centuries 
which  it  is  impossible  to  express  in  figures  and  pass  to 
a period  of  time  which  is  still  remote  and  indistinct  in 
the  annals  of  our  race,  and  yet  not  so  absolutely  hidden 
in  obscurity  as  to  prevent  our  assigning  dates  which 
may  be  approximately  correct,  say,  within  a few  hundred 
years  or  so.  We  shall  find  ourselves  concerned  princi- 
pally with  those  African  and  Asiatic  countries  where 
the  early  nations  of  the  world  developed  a civilisation 
perhaps  unequalled  in  splendour  and  in  the  encourage- 
ment of  the  arts  of  decoration.  Of  these  nations 
almost  our  entire  knowledge  comes  from  the  sculptures 
and  treasures  discovered  in  the  ruins  of  cities  buried  and 
hidden  from  sight  for  centuries,  whose  very  names  and 
histories  are  unknown,  and  from  the  gorgeous  burial- 
places  of  the  great  rulers  and  princes  of  the  dynasties 
which  governed  these  lands.  It  is  to  Egypt  and 
Assyria  that  we  now  come,  and  happily  the  remains 
of  the  wonderful  magnificence  of  their  ancient  peoples 
have  come  down  to  us,  it  may  be  said  in  profusion. 

Many  museums  abound  with  splendid  examples  of 
the  gold  and  silver  work,  the  jewellery,  the  vases,  the 
sarcophagi,  the  statues  and  figures,  the  bracelets,  neck- 

31 


IVORIES 

laces,  earrings  and  other  ornaments  of  dress,  the  furni- 
ture and  objects  of  domestic  use  of  those  days,  some 
of  them  indeed  of  such  high  artistic  value  that  they 
could  only  have  belonged  to  very  great  personages  or 
monarchs.  Naturally  we  could  hardly  expect  to  find 
instances  of  works  of  art  in  such  a fragile  material  as 
ivory  in  any  very  considerable  quantity,  and  it  is  not 
a little  surprising  that  so  much  has  survived  the  de- 
struction of  the  buildings  amongst  the  ruins  of  which 
they  have  been  discovered.  Enough,  however,  remains 
to  give  us  a very  good  idea  of  the  estimation  in  which 
this  material  was  held  for  decorative  purposes,  and  to 
form  a link  in  the  chain  of  the  history  of  art  which,  so 
far  as  ivory  is  concerned,  will  scarcely  be  broken  for 
a single  century  from  these  ancient  days  to  our  own 
times. 

It  will  be  necessary  to  consider  Egyptian  art  in 
ivory  incidentally,  rather  than  as  a separate  subject. 
As  a matter  of  fact,  with  regard  to  Egypt  it  must  be 
allowed  that  there  is  not  sufficient  material  at  hand  to 
justify  our  doing  otherwise.  But  the  collection  of 
examples  now  preserved  in  the  British  Museum, 
resulting  from  the  discoveries  made  by  Layard,  in  his 
well-known  excavations  of  the  site  of  the  great  city  of 
Nineveh,  have  a peculiar  interest  of  their  own,  and 
may  well  be  considered  to  form  a class  apart  from 
other  isolated  specimens  found  here  and  there,  and 
unconnected  with  any  particular  historical  event. 

Of  very  early  Egyptian  works  in  ivory  we  have  still 
preserved  in  the  museums  of  London,  Paris,  and  Cairo, 
examples  of  the  earliest  of  the  dynasties — of  times 
which  go  back  before  the  days  of  Solomon,  before  the 
age  which  saw  the  building  of  the  pyramids  of  Ghizeh, 
before  the  days  of  Abraham,  possibly,  perhaps,  before 
the  building  of  the  great  Step  Pyramid.  For  the 
erection  of  Solomon’s  temple  was  about  a thousand 
years  before  Christ,  the  time  of  Abraham  again  about 
32 


FROM  NINEVEH  AND  EGYPT 

a thousand  years  farther  back,  and  the  building  of  the 
Step  Pyramid  some  centuries  again  still  more  remote. 
We  have  evidence  that  the  ancient  Egyptians  were 
skilled  workers  in  ivory,  which  they  obtained  in  large 
quantities  from  Ethiopia.  Sometimes  they  were  con- 
tent with  carving  it,  sometimes  it  was  engraved  with 
designs  and  figures  in  outline  filled  in  with  black 
mastic.  Of  these  two  methods  there  are  two  extremely 
interesting  examples,  supposed  to  be  castanets,  or 
clappers  of  some  kind,  in  the  museum  of  the  Louvre. 
One  of  them,  preserving  the  curve  of  the  tusk,  is 
carved  with  a head  in  relief,  and  ends  with  a beautifully 
modelled  hand  tapering  to  the  extreme  point.  The 
other  is  the  plain  curved  tusk  incised  with  rudely 
drawn  figures. 

The  British  Museum  possesses  two  daggers  inlaid 
and  ornamented  with  ivory,  which  are  of  the  time  of 
the  Pharaoh  of  the  Exodus,  that  Pharaoh  whose  actual 
features  every  traveller  can  contemplate  and  recognise 
to-day,  as  he  stands  imprisoned  in  his  glass  case  in  the 
museum  at  Cairo.  And  in  the  Louvre  are  a quantity 
of  objects  in  ivory  and  bone — small  vases,  toilet  boxes, 
spoons — the  handle  of  one  of  which  is  a naked  female 
figure — and  other  things,  amongst  them  a box  of  plain 
form  and  simple  decoration,  which  is  inscribed  with  a 
praenomen  attributed  to  the  fifth  dynasty,  perhaps 
nearly  four  thousand  years  before  Christ. 

The  date  of  many  of  these  objects  brings  us  to 
somewhere  about  the  same  period  as  that  of  the 
Assyrian  ivories  now  in  the  British  Museum.  Where 
chronology  is  somewhat  vague,  and  where  we  in- 
sensibly speak  and  think  of  four  or  five  centuries  or 
so,  or  even  more,  as  almost  a negligible  lapse  of  time, 
it  is  as  well  to  get  hold  of  some  tangible  idea  con- 
cerning the  antiquity  of  these  fragile  articles.  When 
we  consider  how  very  fragile  they  are,  and  how  quickly 
perishable  under  ordinary  circumstances,  it  is  astonish- 


IVORIES 


ing  that  any  at  all  should  have  survived  the  fall  of 
buildings  and  the  action  of  fire  which  probably  in  the 
first  place  caused  their  burial  in  the  ground,  and  next 
the  action  of  the  earth  itself  during  the  ages  which 
elapsed  before  their  discovery. 

The  history  of  Assyria  is  almost  entirely  wanting. 
Very  rare,  indeed,  are  the  references  to  this  great  | 
empire  in  early  writers.  From  one  or  two,  such  as  | 
Diodorus  Siculus  or  Eusebius,  we  have  a few  casual  | 
remarks,  but  it  is  remarkable  that  anything  in  the  | 
shape  of  a connected  history  should  absolutely  fail  to  j 
have  been  transmitted  to  us.  Still  a certain  amount  | 
of  historical  information  may  be  said  to  have  been  | 
put  together,  and  from  it  we  may  gather  that  the  great  | 
city  of  Nineveh  arose  about  two  thousand  years  before  i 
the  Christian  era.  In  the  Scriptures  we  find  (Gen.  x.  1 1)  i 
that  out  of  the  land  of  Shinar  “went  forth  Asshur  | 
and  builded  Nineveh,”  and  there,  too,  was  Nimrod, 
the  mighty  hunter  before  the  Lord.  A thousand  years 
or  so  later  the  prophet  Jonah  appears  in  the  city  and 
foretells  its  destruction,  and  about  840  b.c.  the  great 
king  Sardanapalus  is  said,  in  a fit  of  madness,  to 
have  shut  himself  up  in  his  palace  and  destroyed  it  i 
and  himself  by  fire.  And  so  time  went  on  until 
Nineveh  itself,  after  the  expeditions  of  Sennacherib, 
was  rased  to  the  ground,  under  Nebuchadnezzar  II., 
about  650  B.C.,  and  for  a space  of  nearly  three  thousand 
years  the  only  traces  of  its  existence  were  the  mounds 
and  heaps  of  debris  covering  the  site  of  some  ancient 
city,  which  our  countryman,  the  great  explorer  Layard, 
at  length  unearthed  in  our  own  days.  From  his 
excavations,  principally,  come  the  stupendous  mono- 
lithic monuments,  which  we  are  able  to  wonder  at  and 
admire  in  our  national  museum.  These  and  a quantity 
of  other  monuments  and  works  of  art  of  the  highest 
interest,  together  with  the  famous  cylinders,  hundreds 
of  which  have  been  learnedly  and  patiently  deciphered, 

34 


FROM  NINEVEH  AND  EGYPT 

are  the  only  real  books  and  records  which  we  possess 
of  these  ancient  peoples. 

The  huge  mounds  under  which  the  ruins  of  Baby- 
lonia had  been  buried  for  many  centuries  had  long  ex- 
cited the  curiosity  of  travellers,  but  nothing  systematic 
appears  to  have  been  attempted  in  the  way  of  exploration 
until  early  in  the  nineteenth  century,  when  the  first 
to  engage  in  a serious  examination  was  Mr.  Rich, 
the  political  resident  of  the  East  India  Company  at 
Bagdad,  who  began  his  excavations  on  the  supposed 
site  of  Nineveh,  opposite  the  modern  city  of  Mosul, 
about  the  year  1820.  He  was  followed  about  twenty 
years  later  by  Layard,  whose  discoveries  amongst  the 
ruins  of  Babylon,  of  course,  far  exceed  any  others  in 
importance. 

The  so-called  mound  of  Nineveh  occupies  a rect- 
angular area  of  about  nine  hundred  yards  long  by 
eighteen  hundred  wide ; within  were  discovered  the 
remains  of  five  edifices — palaces,  temples,  and  tombs. 
The  first  great  finds  were  some  immense  chambers 
walled  with  slabs  of  gypsum  covered  with  sculptured 
representations  of  battles,  sieges,  and  the  like.  For 
twenty-five  centuries  at  least  they  had  been  hidden 
from  the  eye  of  man.  During  that  time  where  had 
been  spacious  halls  and  kingly  palaces  nothing  had 
been  visible  but  portions  of  ruins  and  huge  mounds  of 
earth.  As  the  ages  passed  the  earth  accumulated ; over 
and  over  again  the  plough  passed  over,  crops  grew  and 
were  gathered  and  replaced,  and  no  suspicion  existed  of 
what  remained  beneath  the  ground. 

It  is  not,  of  course,  within  our  province  to  do  more 
than  allude  in  passing  to  the  marvellous  and  gigantic 
monuments — the  winged  bulls,  the  representations  of 
the  triumphs  of  Sennacherib  and  his  predecessors, 
which  Layard  unearthed.  The  examples  of  ivory 
carvings  from  Nineveh  exhibited  in  the  British 
Museum  number  some  fifty  important  pieces,  besides 

35 


IVORIES 


those  which,  either  being  duplicates  or  too  much 
decayed  and  fragile  for  exhibition,  are  stored  away  in 
cases.  They  were  found  for  the  most  part  all  together, 
in  the  excavation  of  the  great  north-west  palace,  at 
Nimroud,  the  largest  and  most  ancient  building  dis- 
covered, and  the  most  interesting  portion  of  the  ruins. 
When  the  workmen  came  across  these  fragments  they 
were  deeply  embedded  in  the  soil,  to  which  they  adhered 
so  closely  that  it  was  only  with  extreme  care,  and  in 
many  cases  with  the  aid  of  a penknife,  or  some  other 
small  instrument,  that  they  could  be  detached  and 
cleaned  without  falling  to  pieces.  Not  only  so,  but 
the  action  of  the  earth,  and  in  some  cases  the  effect  of 
fire  from  a conflagration  at  the  time  of  the  destruction 
of  the  palaces  had  so  decomposed  them,  that  many 
separated  into  flakes  or  fell  into  powder.  The  action 
of  the  external  air  would  no  doubt  before  long  have 
completed  their  destruction,  when  it  occurred  to  their 
discoverer  to  restore  to  them  the  gelatinous  matter  which 
had  dried  up  in  the  course  of  centuries.  This  was 
done  with  a very  gratifying  measure  of  success  by 
boiling  them  in  a solution  of  gelatine  dissolved  in 
alcohol,  so  that  some  of  them  have  almost  completely 
regained  their  pristine  beauty.  For  the  most  part, 
however,  the  ivory  has  so  entirely  changed  its  nature 
that  a casual  observation  would  lead  one  to  ascribe 
them  to  quite  different  materials. 

After  all,  the  forms  remain  very  fairly  perfect,  so 
far  as  their  fragmentary  character  may  be  considered, 
and  one  can  hardly,  in  fact,  regret  the  curious  changes 
which  have  happened,  so  beautiful — in  the  same  way 
as  with  the  iridescence  of  ancient  glass — have  these 
fragments  become.  It  is  possible,  perhaps,  that  some 
may  owe  their  colour  to  dye  or  to  other  artificial 
colouring,  but  as  a rule  the  probability  is  that  the 
action  of  fire  is  responsible  for  the  change  in  nature. 
Some  pieces  are  hardly  to  be  distinguished  from  ebony, 
36 


I V MLim 


V 


FROM  NINEVEH  AND  EGYPT 

Others  resemble  basalt,  slate,  fossilised  wood,  sandstone, 
wax,  or  even  possess  almost  the  iridescence  of  opal. 
In  this  connection  it  may  be  interesting  to  recall  the 
opinion  of  the  learned  chemist.  Professor  Church,  to 
whom  a tiny  bit  of  inlay,  resembling  turquoise,  from 
a gold  armlet  discovered  on  the  Oxus,  was  submitted 
for  analysis.  He  says : “ I tested  the  fragment  for 
phosphoric  acid  and  found  it,  but  could  detect  no 
copper,  to  which  element  turquoise  owes  its  colour. 
But  there  are  other  blue  mineral  phosphates.  So  I 
turned  my  attention  to  the  best  known  of  these,  namely, 
odontolite  or  fossil  turquoise,  which  is  really  mammoth 
ivory  coloured  blue  naturally  by  vivianite  or  iron 
phosphate.”  We  learn,  then,  that  mammoth  ivory 
may  be,  by  lapse  of  time  and  through  surroundings, 
converted  into  a gem,  and  the  question  is  suggestive 
in  many  ways.  Fossil  or  blue  ivory  is  sometimes 
found  in  commerce,  and  is  used  occasionally  in  the 
manufacture  of  jewellery.  It  is  evidently  the  result 
of  the  tusks  of  antediluvian  mammoths  buried  in  the 
earth  for  thousands  of  years,  during  which  time  they 
have  become  slowly  penetrated  with  the  metallic  salts, 
which  have  given  them  the  peculiar  blue  colour, 
allowing  them  to  be  used  as  turquoises. 

The  examples  of  ivory  in  this  collection  consist  of 
a number  of  plaques,  which  formed,  probably,  portions 
of  the  decoration  of  thrones  or  couches,  fragments  of 
winged  sphinxes,  small  thin  slabs,  simply  engraved  in 
outline,  the  head  of  a lion,  portions  of  the  bodies  of 
bulls,  and  other  animals,  flower  and  scroll  work,  and 
a considerable  number  of  human  heads,  hands,  legs, 
and  feet.  In  most  cases  these  heads  would  appear  not 
to  have  formed  parts  of  complete  figures,  but  to  have 
been  affixed  to  pedestals,  or  to  have  been  portions  of 
the  decorative  frieze  of  some  piece  of  furniture. 

The  wealthy  Assyrians  were  noted  for  excessive  luxury 
in  the  rich  adornment  of  their  dwellings.  Doubtless 

37 


IVORIES 

it  was  particularly  to  them  that  the  inspired  prophet 
referred  when  he  said  that  there  was  “ no  end  of  the 
store  and  glory  out  of  all  the  pleasant  furniture.”  On 
a sculptured  slab  in  the  British  Museum  and  on  his 
cylinders  we  have  had  deciphered  the  campaigns  of 
Sennacherib  described  by  himself.  He  enumerates  the 
spoil  which  he  carried  away  when  he  overthrew  King 
Hezekiah  and  shut  him  up  in  Jerusalem:  “thirty 
talents  of  gold,  eight  hundred  talents  of  silver,  precious 
stones,  ivory  couches,  ivory  furniture  he  sent  to  my 
court  at  Nineveh  as  tribute.”  And  if  the  few  precious 
fragments  which  have  come  to  us  are  suggestive,  can 
we  not  imagine  the  wealth  of  ivory  decoration  displayed 
in  the  inlay  of  ceilings,  beams,  and  panellings,  in  the 
mouldings  and  architraves  of  the  gates  and  doorways 
of  the  palaces,  in  the  chairs  and  couches,  tables  and 
cabinets,  and  other  furniture  ? We  may  be  certain 
that  in  the  decoration  of  these  and  many  other  things 
ivory  was  used  as  an  ordinary  veneer  or  inlay  in  the 
manner  which  afterwards  spread  far  westwards,  and 
became  so  popular  under  the  name  of  tarsia  work. 
Its  exquisite  whiteness  and  peculiar  sheen  were  con- 
trasted, not  only  with  wood,  but  also  with  gold  and 
silver,  and  even  with  the  more  sombre  tones  of  bronze 
and  iron.  Very  often,  indeed,  we  find  the  fragments 
mixed  up  with  the  debris  of  wood  and  other  material. 
Evidently  many  of  them  have  formed  portions  of 
thrones  or  of  footstools  of  thrones — in  fact,  it  might 
not  be  very  difficult  with  their  aid  to  construct  a 
possible  reproduction  of  such  a magnificent  piece  of 
furniture.  Then,  again,  in  one  or  other  of  the  museums 
already  mentioned  we  have  examples,  in  a more  or  less 
complete  state,  of  arms,  such  as  daggers  or  sword 
handles,  sceptres,  decorations  of  the  wheels  or  pole- 
heads  of  chariots,  musical  instruments,  toys,  and  small 
domestic  articles. 

The  most  interesting,  says  Layard  in  his  great 
38 


• • 


J 


PLATE  III  IVORIES  FROM  THE  RUINS  OF  NINEVEH 

3.  FKACMF.XT  FKOM  TIIliONE.  NI.MKUD.  2.  I’ANKI,  WITH  CARTOUCHE.  3.  EEON'V-LIICE  HEAD 


i 


FROM  NINEVEH  AND  EGYPT 

work  on  Nineveh,  amongst  the  pieces  forming  the  col- 
lection in  the  British  Museum,  are  the  remains  of 
two  small  tablets.  One  of  them  is  almost  perfect. 
The  other  panel,  unfortunately  much  injured,  repre- 
sents two  sitting  figures,  each  holding  in  one  hand 
the  Egyptian  sceptre  or  symbol  of  power.  Between  the 
figures  is  a cartouche  containing  a name  or  words  in 
hieroglyphics,  and  surmounted  by  a feather  or  plume 
such  as  is  found  in  monuments  of  the  eighteenth  and 
subsequent  dynasties  of  Egypt.  The  chairs  on  which 
the  figures  are  seated,  the  hieroglyphics,  and  the  feather 
were  enamelled — if  the  term  is  applicable,  and  it  may 
be — with  a blue  substance  let  into  the  ivory,  and  the 
whole  ground  of  the  tablet,  as  well  as  the  cartouche 
and  part  of  the  figures,  was  originally  gilded.  Now  in 
this  treatment  of  the  ivory,  after  the  manner  of  enamel- 
ling, by  digging  out  the  ground  in  cells  and  compart- 
ments, and  filling  in  these  compartments  whether  with 
a coloured  composition,  or,  as  is  extremely  probable  in 
other  cases,  with  actual  jewels  or  semi-precious  stones, 
a question  arises  of  considerable  importance  in  connec- 
tion with  the  analogy  of  such  a method  with  a very 
usual  and  beautiful  art  in  ancient  Egyptian  jewellery. 
It  is,  in  fact,  doubtful  whether  the  origin  of  this  fashion 
may  not  be  traced  to  Assyria,  and  that  it  was  thence 
adopted  later  in  Egypt.  The  inference  cannot,  of 
course,  be  absolutely  drawn  from  the  fragments  which 
are  now  before  us,  but  it  may  be  remarked  that  though 
many  of  the  finest  pieces  from  Nineveh,  and  especially 
this  cartouche  tablet,  have  a decidedly  Egyptian  char- 
acter, yet  there  are  certain  peculiarities  which  may  lead 
to  the  supposition  that  although  the  motive  may  have 
been  copied  or  taken  direct  from  Egyptian  sources,  the 
method  of  application  was  due  to  native  workmen.  It 
is  true  that  the  inlay  in  these  cases  is  a composition  or 
colouring  matter  resembling  lapis  lazuli,  but  the  idea  is 
the  same,  and  until  we  can  be  more  precise  as  to  the 

39 


IVORIES 

date  of  these  objects  the  question  may  perhaps  remain 
an  open  one. 

It  is  not  to  be  denied,  with  regard  to  a considerable 
number  of  them,  that  they  were  importations,  and  it  is 
impossible  to  question  the  purely  Egyptian  character 
of  the  designs.  We  cannot,  therefore,  reasonably 
assert  that  all  these  plaques  are  of  Mesopotamian 
origin,  or  deny  that  some  are  not  only  Egyptian  in 
style  but  also  in  workmanship.  To  ascribe  their 
origin  to  all  the  importations  would  be  a matter  of 
considerable  difficulty,  bearing  in  mind  the  various 
foreign  sources  to  which  artistic  work  in  ancient 
Assyria,  with  the  varied  commercial  relations  of  that 
great  empire,  might  be  assigned.  The  important  part 
played  by  Egypt,  at  least,  may  be  taken  for  granted, 
both  in  the  actual  importation  of  works  of  art,  and  in 
the  influence  exerted  by  its  style  on  the  native  work- 
men. And  with  regard  to  other  countries,  undoubtedly 
a considerable  quantity  of  Indian  ivory  must  have 
entered  Mesopotamia  by  caravan  and  land  routes, 
by  the  Persian  Gulf,  from  Chaldea  and  Arabia,  and 
from  Africa  also  by  way  of  Egypt — some  in  its  raw 
state,  some  already  partly  prepared  for  application  in 
the  way  of  veneer.  We  know  also,  both  from  the 
sculptured  reliefs  on  the  monuments  of  Nineveh, 
representing  captives  or  tribute-bearers  bearing  tusks, 
and  from  actual  finds,  such  as  the  elephant  tusks  which 
Layard  discovered  in  one  of  the  palaces,  that  ivory  was 
brought  in  a rough  state  into  the  Assyrian  capital.  At 
the  same  time  there  are  many  other  examples  with 
figures  and  ornaments  of  purely  Assyrian  character, 
for  instance,  the  horned  tiara,  the  winged  robes,  the 
guilloche  border,  the  daisy-shaped  rosette  repeated  over 
and  over  again,  or  the  honeysuckle  ornament  in  various 
forms  and  developments.  Then,  again,  though  certain 
motives,  such  as  the  solar  disc,  the  plumes  surmounting 
the  cartouche,  the  sphinx,  the  palmette,  or  the  lotus, 
40 


PLATE  //■  INilKII-,^  ri-;iiM  rill-.  RUINS  OK  NINl-IVKIl 


FROM  NINEVEH  AND  EGYPT 

might  have  been  borrowed  from  Egypt,  and  were  so, 
no  doubt — especially  in  the  times  about  seven  centuries 
before  Christ,  when  the  Assyrians  invaded  and  occupied 
it — still,  it  is  often  adaptation  rather  than  borrowing, 
and  to  the  adaptation  the  Assyrian  might  have  added 
his  own  peculiarities.  May  we  not,  for  example,  see  an 
instance  of  such  adaptation  in  the  fragment  with  the 
winged  sphinx  in  the  British  Museum,  of  which  we 
give  an  illustration  ? 

In  the  great  fragment  with  the  cartouche  the  figures 
of  the  women  are  clearly  Egyptian  in  their  dress, 
attitude,  and  faces.  Not  only  so,  but  the  tablet  bears 
a legible,  and  not  purely  ornamental,  hieroglyphic, 
which  has  been  read  as  Auben  Ra,  perhaps  the  name 
of  a dynasty.  It  is,  of  course,  possible  that  the  style 
of  this  hieroglyphic  may  not  be  purely  Egyptian,  but 
an  imitation  by  native  artists.  But  though  the  pre- 
paration for  inlay  in  cells  in  the  wings  of  the  sphinxes 
seems  to  be  in  the  Egyptian  manner,  the  bodies  of  the 
animals  and  the  general  treatment  of  the  lotus-flower 
decoration  are  somewhat  different  from  what  we  should 
expect  in  fine  specimens  of  purely  Egyptian  work. 

The  question  of  origin  is  always  one  which  it  is 
difficult  to  settle  satisfactorily  on  the  evidence  only  of 
national  styles.  It  is  easy  to  imagine  that  an  ornament 
may  be  the  result  of  an  order  given  by  a great  personage 
of  one  country  to  a workman  of  another  who  would 
often  be  following  instructions,  or  might  endeavour  to 
infuse  some  of  the  characteristics  into  his  work  of  the 
nation  for  which  it  is  destined.  Or  a foreign  workman 
long  settled  in  another  country,  though  assimilating 
the  tastes  of  his  adopted  home,  would  naturally  pre- 
serve a good  deal  of  the  style  of  his  own  nationality. 
We  find  such  instances  over  and  over  again  in  the  arts 
of  all  nations.  At  the  same  time,  though,  as  the  wise 
man  said,  there  is  nothing  new  under  the  sun,  it  is 
always  interesting  to  endeavour  to  fix  the  earliest 

41 


IVORIES 


examples  of  any  particular  fashion  or  style.  And  even 
in  this  small  collection  of  ivories  from  Nimroud  we  are 
able  to  point  to  an  indubitable  instance  of  the  invention 
of  the  Assyrian  in  that  most  graceful  ornament  com- 
monly called  the  honeysuckle,  which  was  known  to 
their  refined  taste  certainly  two  or  three  centuries 
before  it  passed,  under  various  forms  and  adaptations, 
from  Persia  to  the  Greeks,  and  was  extensively  used  by 
the  latter  during  the  highest  periods  of  their  incom- 
parable art.  Another  favourite  with  the  Assyrians  was 
the  guilloche  design,  that  simple  and  effective  inter- 
twining of  bands  and  circles.  We  find  it  on  their 
monuments,  embroidered  on  the  robes  of  the  personages 
depicted,  on  the  decoration  of  chariots,  of  arms,  on  the 
walls  and  friezes. 

Yet  again,  illustrated  on  these  ivories,  is  the  volute, 
which  is  universal  in  Assyrian  and  Chaldean  art.  We 
have  it,  for  example,  in  a plaque  carv^ed  with  a figure 
of  a man  standing  and  grasping  a lotus  stem.  In  this 
arrangement  is  to  be  traced  also  that  peculiar  symboli- 
cal device  which  has  so  much  interested  orientalists, 
viz.  the  tree  of  life.  The  fondness  of  all  oriental  nations 
of  antiquity  for  this  symbol,  and  for  the  particular 
curves  composing  it,  which  may  be  seen  over  and  over 
again  in  the  various  adaptations  of  the  device,  is  very 
remarkable,  and  its  relation  with  the  history  of  art  and 
the  development  of  the  earliest  forms  of  religion  in  the 
east  meet  the  observer  at  every  turn,  sometimes  in  the 
most  unexpected  connections. 

The  very  early  specimens  of  ancient  art  which  these 
Assyrian  ivories,  prepared  for  inlay,  offer  us  the  oppor- 
tunity of  studying,  open  up  therefore  the  interesting 
questions  of  the  origin  and  evolution  of  cloisonne 
enamel,  which  appears  in  its  earliest  stages  to  have 
consisted  in  the  inlay  of  coloured  stones  or  of  pastes 
and  other  compositions  used  without  the  action  of 
firing.  The  fashion  of  inlaying  brooches,  rings,  brace- 
42 


FROM  NINEVEH  AND  EGYPT 

lets,  necklaces,  and  other  ornaments  with  precious 
stones  spread  gradually  to  the  west,  and  we  find 
numerous  examples  throughout  Germany,  Scandinavia, 
Italy,  and  England,  up  to  the  ninth  or  tenth  centuries. 
We  are  enabled  to  trace  this  system  of  imbricated  orna- 
ment in  its  passage  from  Assyria  and  Egypt  across  the 
Asiatic  and  European  continents,  and  to  observe  the 
manner  in  which  it  was  adapted  by  various  nations, 
especially  by  barbaric  tribes,  as  in  the  case  of  the 
Scythians,  where  we  find  turquoises  and  cabochon-cut 
stones  set  in  cells  dug  out  of  the  solid  metal.  The 
fashion  of  inlay  in  ivory  was  not  uncommon.  It  is 
probable  that  gold  and  silver  were  used,  and  there  are 
traces  of  the  inlay,  if  not  of  precious  stones,  at  any 
rate  of  such  semi-precious  material  as  lapis  lazuli. 
Possibly  also  the  process  was  reversed  and  the  ivory 
set — or  let  in — to  bronze,  silver,  or  gold,  as  the  case 
might  be,  and  as  a matter  of  fact,  we  have  an  instance 
of  this  on  a small  scale  in  the  case  of  a Roman  bronze 
head  found  at  Veii.  Few  examples  in  ivory  other  than 
those  of  Nimroud  have  come  down  to  us.  Amongst 
these  few  there  is,  however,  an  ivory  dagger  - sheath 
inlaid  with  small  squares  of  amber  found  by  Padre 
Garrucci  in  an  Etruscan  pre-Christian  tomb  at  Veii ; 
and,  again,  at  Hallstadt,  some  sword  handles  have  been 
found  inlaid  with  ivory. 

The  practice  seems  to  have  travelled  on  through 
Russia  and  Scandinavia,  through  France  and  Spain, 
Italy  and  Germany,  till  it  died  out  completely.  It  is 
an  art  which  must  be  admitted  to  be  one  of  the  most 
difficult  of  all  the  arts  which  can  be  used  without 
danger  of  vulgarity.  Barbaric  magnificence  may  be 
satisfied  with  it  in  its  crudest  forms,  but  for  a cultivated 
taste  a measure  of  restraint  is  required,  of  which 
possibly  none  since  the  times  of  Greek  art  at  its  best 
have  been  capable.  To  the  Japanese,  almost  alone  in 
their  marvellous  originality,  have  the  inlay  and  mixture 

43 


IVORIES 

of  various  substances  of  opposite  character  occurred  in 
modern  times  until  quite  recently.  When  we  come,  in 
a succeeding  chapter,  to  examine  their  work,  we  shall 
find  occasion  to  note  their  use  of  the  inlay  and  com- 
bination with  ivory  of  gold  and  silver,  coral  and 
mother-of-pearl. 

Some  stress  has  been  laid  on  the  hypotheses  con- 
necting these  ivory  fragments  with  the  art  of  inlaying, 
because  it  is  pleasing  in  an  account  of  the  application 
of  ivory  to  the  industrial  arts  to  be  able  to  point  at  so 
early  a stage  to  an  association  which  is  of  a very  high 
importance.  It  is  right,  without  pursuing  the  subject 
further,  to  mention  analogous  cases  of  similar  inlay 
with  pastes  or  coloured  glass  in  tiles  and  other  objects 
of  pottery  and  porcelain  in  ancient  Egypt,  and  also  the 
mixture  of  these  materials  with  ivory  for  the  decoration 
of  coffins  and  mummy  cases. 

Where  all  is  vague  in  the  history  of  so  flourishing, 
but  so  little  known,  a people  as  the  Assyrians,  it  is 
impossible  to  estimate  too  highly  the  value  of  the 
smallest  indications  which  tend  to  throw  light  on  their 
civilisation,  their  manners,  arts  and  customs,  but  to 
attempt  to  be  in  any  way  precise  as  to  the  date  of  these 
interesting  ivories  is  impossible.  In  many  cases,  as 
already  pointed  out,  the  forms  and  styles  of  art  are 
very  distinctly  Egyptian,  but  we  are  met  with  puzzling 
anomalies  and  peculiarities  in  the  character  of  these 
styles.  At  the  date  generally  assigned  to  the  foundation 
of  Nineveh,  that  is  to  say,  about  2000  b.c.,  the  arts  had 
already  attained  to  a high  state  of  perfection  in  Egypt, 
but  a lapse  of  time  amounting  to  at  least  a thousand 
years — a very  long  period,  indeed,  in  the  history  of  the 
world — must  be  allowed  before  we  reach  the  earliest 
period  at  which  authorities  have  ventured  to  place  the 
date  of  the  fabrication  of  the  ivories,  if  we  may  take 
this  to  be  about  the  time  of  the  twenty-second  dynasty, 
or  980  B.C.,  and,  again,  a further  interval  of  three  or 
44 


FROM  NINEVEH  AND  EGYPT 

four  hundred  years,  if  we  accept  the  latest  possible  date 
— according  to  Layard — as  634  b.c. 

From  recent  explorations  in  Egypt,  such,  for 
instance,  as  those  of  Professor  Flinders  Petrie  and 
Drs.  Grenfell  and  Hunt  at  Abydos,  a certain  number 
of  fragments  of  sculpture  in  ivory  have  naturally 
resulted.  Some  small  objects  from  the  old  temple  site 
at  Abydos  were  exhibited  at  the  University  College, 
Gower  Street,  in  1903.  Amongst  them  were  several 
fragments  of  small  figures,  for  the  most  part  of  animals 
— dogs,  bears,  and  lions,  one  of  the  latter  having  eyes 
of  chalcedony.  The  most  interesting  is  a small  statuette 
of  an  aged  king,  wearing  the  crown  of  upper  Egypt, 
and  what  appears  to  be  a robe  of  thick  quilted  stuff 
with  a well-defined  pattern.  Another  is  a torso  of  a 
naked  woman  surprisingly  well  modelled. 

Concerning  the  dates  of  these  pieces,  it  would  be 
difficult  to  be  anything  like  precise,  and,  in  any  case, 
it  is  a question  for  Egyptologists  to  decide.  The 
earliest  temple  was  probably  anterior  to  the  first 
dynasty — that  is  to  say,  before  the  time  of  Menes,  the 
first  king  of  Egypt — and  it  was  in  a chamber  of  this 
temple  that  the  ivories  were  discovered.  In  that  case 
they  might  be  some  two  thousand  years  older  than  the 
Nineveh  fragments.  They  were  found  here  amongst 
a mass  of  waste  and  rubbish  which  had  been  thrown 
together  with  many  other  disused  temple  figures, 
ornaments,  and  debris  of  furniture.  Their  condition 
resembles  that  of  the  ivory  fragments  from  Nineveh 
in  the  British  Museum,  and,  in  fact,  in  most  cases  they 
are  in  the  same  way  hardly  to  be  recognised  as  ivory. 
But  there  was  evidently  a large  deposit  of  ivory  objects 
in  this  chamber,  much,  however,  in  such  a state  as  to 
prevent  their  recovery.  Sometimes  there  would  be 
little  more  than  mere  yellow  paste,  or  a little  heap  of 
grains  or  needles,  lying  in  a hollow  in  the  clay. 
Sometimes  the  form  and  the  nature  of  the  material 


45 


IVORIES 

of  a statuette  could  be  discerned,  but  without  hope  of 
successful  extraction.  The  most  perfect  pieces  were 
treated  in  a similar  way  to  those  discovered  by  Layard. 
The  lime  and  salt  incrustations  were  removed  with 
vinegar  and  with  dilute  hydrochloric  acid,  and  the 
ivory  was  then  soaked  in  gelatine,  melted  stearine,  or 
beeswax.  Later  on,  on  arrival  in  London,  it  was  boiled 
in  wax  to  increase  the  consistency. 


46 


CHAPTER  IV 


CONSULAR  DIPTYCHS  AND  OTHER  ANCIENT 
GREEK  AND  ROMAN  IVORIES 

COMPARATIVELY  a very  small  number  of 
Greek  and  Roman  carvings  in  ivory  have  come 
down  to  us  earlier  than  the  earliest  of  the 
consular  and  other  important  classical  diptychs  and 
plaques,  to  which  considerable  attention  will  presently 
be  devoted.  Of  Greek  art  at  its  finest  period  scarcely 
anything  exists  to  which  we  can  refer  with  any 
certainty,  though  it  can  hardly  be  doubted  that  ivory 
work  could  not  have  been  neglected,  and  we  have, 
therefore,  to  deplore  the  absolute  loss  of  countless 
examples,  which  must,  at  one  time,  have  abounded. 
Ivory  would  seem  to  be  a medium,  in  which  the 
refined  taste  of  the  great  sculptors  of  Greece  must  have 
delighted  ; but  there  remain  to  us  but  the  records,  to 
which  allusion  has  already  been  made,  for  instance,  in 
the  pages  of  Pausanias  and  in  the  references  which  we 
find  so  frequently  in  the  great  poetic  writers.  The 
chryselephantine  statues  of  Phidias  and  Praxiteles  will 
receive  attention  in  a subsequent  chapter. 

There  can  be  little  doubt  that  for  a thousand 
years  at  least  before  our  era,  ivory  would  have  occupied 
the  attention  of  a succession  of  sculptors  throughout 
all  the  flourishing  nations  of  Africa  and  Asia,  as  well 
as  in  Italy.  Unquestionably,  the  demand  for  its  use 
must  have  been  very  great  in  the  decoration  of  palaces, 

47 


IVORIES 


for  furniture,  arms,  and  numberless  objects  of  domestic 
use  which  were  so  lavishly  adorned  in  those  luxurious 
days.  Not  the  least  among  the  losses  which  we  have 
to  regret  must  be  that  nothing  has  been  preserved  in 
ivory  to  compare,  for  example,  with  the  charming 
Tanagra  groups  and  statuettes,  which,  though  executed 
in  a much  more  fragile  material,  may  yet  be  seen  in 
comparatively  large  numbers.  To  say  that  there  is 
nothing  left  of  the  most  glorious  ages  of  art  w'hich  the 
world  has  ever  seen  is  perhaps  too  sw^eeping,  but  even 
remembering  that  a few  very  beautiful  objects  of 
possibly  Greek  workmanship  have  been  discovered  in 
Etruscan  tombs  at  Chiusi,  Palestrina,  and  Calvi,  the 
exceptions  are  so  rare  that  the  void  remains  practically 
unfilled.  In  the  tombs  of  the  Scythian  kings  of  the 
Crimea,  which  yielded  up  such  a multitude  of  treasures 
of  Greek  and  Greco- Scythian  art  workmanship  in  the 
precious  metals,  dating  from  the  time  of  the  highest 
civilisation  of  Greece,  we  can  point  to  nothing,  save  a 
few  fragments  of  thin  pieces  or  veneers  of  ivory  which 
ornamented  some  domestic  object,  perhaps  a couch  or 
throne,  or,  as  some  think,  a lyre.  These  are,  so  far 
as  they  go,  precious  and  remarkable,  but  even  to  them 
we  can  hardly  assign  an  earlier  date  than  the  third 
century  before  Christ.  They  bear  exquisite  designs 
and  groups  of  figures  in  outline,  and  are  similar  in 
many  respects  to  the  slabs  of  ivory  with  outline 
designs  in  the  Nineveh  collection  of  the  British 
Museum.  Like  these,  too,  the  ivory  is  much  de- 
composed, and  of  a greyish  colour  resembling  wood, 
which,  until  recently,  the  Hermitage  fragments  were 
supposed  to  be. 

The  few  examples  of  importance  of  classical  work 
before  the  Christian  era,  or  about  that  time,  are  mostly 
in  the  great  museums  of  the  Vatican,  Naples,  the 
Louvre,  and  Cluny.  In  the  Cluny  Museum  is  a very 
beautiful  and  rare  statuette  of  Penthea,  possibly  of  the 
48 


ANCIENT  GREEK  AND  ROMAN 

third  century.  It  is  fifteen  inches  in  height,  of  very 
white  ivory,  the  head  covered  by  a veil.  She  holds  in 
the  right  hand  a thyrsus,  in  the  left  a mirror.  The 
most  important  in  Italy  include  finds  in  Etruscan  and 
other  tombs,  in  some  cases  the  work  of  more  eastern 
countries,  and  of  high  antiquity. 

A fine  head  of  a woman,  found  in  1878,  at  Vienne, 
during  the  excavations  of  the  site  of  the  ancient  Roman 
theatre,  is  of  considerable  interest.  It  is  very  large, 
almost  half  life-size.  For  some  time  it  was  thought 
to  be  wood,  and  a paper  was  read  upon  it,  and  upon 
the  extreme  rarity  of  carvings  in  wood  of  the  Roman 
epoch.  The  interior  is  hollow,  with  an  opening  in 
the  back,  and  it  appears  to  have  served  as  a jewel- 
case.  It  is  now  in  the  Museum,  Vienne. 

The  finds  in  the  Etruscan  tombs  at  Chiusi  and 
Calvi,  if  few  in  number,  are  of  extreme  importance,  as 
some  of  them  are  probably  Greek  work  of  a very  fine 
period,  perhaps  of  the  fourth  century  b.c.  A head  of 
a gorgon,  with  the  eyes  inlaid  with  gold,  has  the 
appearance  of  a button  or  other  ornament  of  a woman’s 
dress.  There  were  other  fragments,  heads  of  horses 
and  of  lions,  portions  of  mirrors  and  caskets,  and  a 
large  bust  of  a woman,  all  full  of  character,  and  equal 
in  execution  to  any  similar  work  in  sculpture  of  the 
best  times  of  Greek  art. 

The  earliest  in  England  to  which  we  can  refer  is  an 
Etruscan  tablet  in  the  Liverpool  collection.  It  is  of 
bone,  probably  at  one  time  forming  part  of  a casket, 
and  bears  a representation  of  Diana  and  the  Maenalian 
stag.  There  are  also  in  the  same  museum  one  or  two 
tablets  and  a fragment  of  a scent-box.  In  the  Gem 
Room  of  the  British  Museum  there  is  an  ivory  handle 
of  a mirror  in  a very  fine  style  of  art  of  perhaps  the 
seventh  century  b.c.,  with  a representation  of  Arimaspes 
slaying  the  Gryphon,  and  another,  similar,  but  much 
decayed.  There  is  also  an  ivory  draught-box,  with  a 

E 49 


IVORIES 

most  spirited  representation  of  a deer  hunt.  Nor  can 
a mention  be  omitted  of  one  very  famous  figure,  the 
Tragic  Actor  with  his  mask — Greek  work  of  the  second 
or  third  century,  which  came  lately  to  the  city  of  Paris 
with  the  rest  of  the  magnificent  Dutuit  collection. 

The  examples  of  Roman  classical  work  in  ivory  of 
the  first  three  centuries  (omitting  for  the  present  the 
diptychs)  in  the  British  and  South  Kensington 
Museums  are  limited  to  a number  of  small  objects, 
for  the  most  part  of  domestic  utility.  We  find  among 
them,  however,  some  remarkably  beautiful  Greek  and 
Roman  fragments  — statuettes,  heads,  busts,  cupids, 
masks,  medallions,  plaques,  parts  of  friezes,  and  so  on. 
In  addition  there  are  caskets,  toilet-boxes,  combs,  hair- 
pins, dolls,  back-scratchers,  styles  for  writing  on  wax 
tablets,  dice  of  several  kinds  (some  very  large),  knuckle- 
bones, spoons,  and  a number  of  small  objects.  Tesserce, 
or  admission  tickets  to  the  theatre  or  circus — such  as, 
with  relation  to  the  opera,  we  still  call  a “bone” — are 
not  uncommon,  some  of  them  numbered,  others  carved 
with  human  figures,  or  with  such  subjects  as  a hand,  a 
prawn,  etc.  Many  of  these  things  call  for  description 
in  detail  and  for  illustration,  but  we  must  take  them  as 
a whole  and  view  them  for  their  interest  in  regard  to 
the  daily  life  of  those  times.  It  is  interesting  to  note 
again,  as  in  the  case  of  the  Nineveh  ivories,  the  dis- 
integration and  discoloration  which  is  so  varied  and 
unaccountable.  A curious  example  is  an  ivory  in  its 
primitive  condition,  viz.,  a horse’s  tooth,  which  appears 
almost  to  be  turning  into  fossil  turquoise. 

A certain  number  of  ivory  fragments  of  the  time  of 
the  Roman  occupation  of  our  country  naturally  turn 
up  in  barrows  from  time  to  time — such  things  as  combs 
or  small  statuettes.  Of  the  latter  there  are,  in  the 
British  Museum,  a figure  of  a boy  and  another  of 
Hercules,  probably  knife-handles.  They  were  dug  up 
at  Chesterford  about  1855.  Ivory  and  bone  combs 
50 


ANCIENT  GREEK  AND  ROMAN 

have  been  found  in  London  and  Lincoln,  at  Great 
Watering,  Essex,  York,  Berkshire,  and  other  places, 
and  are  now  in  the  Guildhall  and  British  Museums, 
and  there  are  the  somewhat  important  pieces  discovered 
at  Caerleon,  already  referred  to.  Objects  in  ivory  re- 
lating to  Roman  occupations  of  other  countries  are  not 
more  common.  Among  them  a parazonium,  or  parade 
dagger,  plain,  but  the  sheath  and  handle  entirely  of 
ivory,  found  in  a tumulus  in  Belgium  is  interesting. 
It  is  now  in  the  museum  at  Brussels. 

A Greco  - Roman  necropolis  was  discovered  at 
Sakkara  in  1882,  and  soon  after  a Romano-Coptic 
one  at  Akmin,  containing  many  fragments  of  various 
sorts,  ornaments,  stuffs  and  embroideries  of  the  men 
and  women  who  had  inhabited  Memphis  at  the  com- 
mencement of  the  Christian  era.  It  must  have  been 
used  for  centuries,  and  the  finds  included  small  ivory 
crosses  with  arms  of  equal  length,  evidently  intended 
to  be  worn,  and  some  ivory  plaques  with  figures  of 
St.  George  and  St.  Michael,  devotional  objects  of 
the  early  Coptic  Christians  of  the  fifth  to  the  eighth 
century. 

But  if  we  have  to  lament  the  defaults  in  the  chain 
of  examples  in  the  history  of  art,  as  illustrated  by 
carvings  in  ivory,  during  so  long  a time,  and  at  a 
period  when,  in  other  directions,  it  is  continued  so 
fully  and  with  such  magnificence,  on  the  other  hand, 
the  chain  can  be  again  picked  up  in  a series  of  the 
highest  importance  and  historical  interest  which  begins 
about  the  third  century  of  our  era.  From  that  time 
onwards  until  the  present  day  it  continues  unbroken. 
Not  only  so,  but  while  now  it  is  the  turn  of  every  other 
description  of  art  industry  to  make  total  default  for  a 
period  of  five  or  six  centuries — nay,  it  is  hardly  an 
exaggeration  to  say  for  almost  double  that  lapse  of 
time — we  are  indebted  to  sculpture  in  ivory  for  enabling 
us  to  make  good  the  hiatus,  and  to  lift  the  veil  which 

51 


IVORIES 

during  that  long  period  covers  the  history  of  art 
throughout  the  whole  of  central  Europe. 

The  most  important  of  these  monuments  of 
sculpture  are  the  diptychs  and  triptychs,  which  for 
many  centuries  were  used  for  various  practical  pur- 
poses, and  amongst  these  the  most  interesting — for 
their  historical  associations,  at  least — and  the  earliest 
in  point  of  date  are  those  known  as  consular  diptychs. 

Generally  speaking,  any  object  doubled  or  folded  in 
two  is  a diptych,  but  the  name  is  more  particularly 
associated  with  a kind  of  note-book  for  inscribing 
memoranda,  or  other  documents,  in  a peculiar  manner, 
by  indenting  the  thin  surface  of  wax,  with  which  the 
leaves  were  covered,  by  means  of  a sharp  metallic 
instrument  termed  a style. 

Books  in  early  days  were  composed,  as  a rule,  of 
long  strips  of  vellum  rolled  on  a couple  of  wooden  or 
ivory  rollers  when  not  in  use.  They  were,  naturally, 
costly  to  produce,  and  confined  to  works  of  considerable 
length  and  importance.  For  memoranda,  letters,  and 
documents  of  various  kinds,  whether  ephemeral  or  to 
be  kept  as  records,  the  custom  continued  for  many 
centuries  of  using  these  waxen-covered  tablets,  which 
were  usually  folded  at  least  twice,  and  then  termed 
diptychs,  or  if  they  consisted  of  three  or  more  leaves, 
were  called  triptychs  or  polyptychs. 

In  the  case,  then,  of  a diptych,  the  inner  parts  of 
the  pair  of  tablets  were  slightly  hollowed  out,  leaving 
a raised  margin  to  hold  a very  thin  layer  of  wax,  the 
surface  of  which  was  coloured,  usually  black  or  green, 
so  that  the  letters  scratched  upon  it  with  the  metallic 
style  might  appear  white  and  be  easily  legible.  The 
tablets  themselves  were,  for  ordinary  use,  of  wood  of 
a more  or  less  costly  kind  and  decorated  or  undecorated; 
of  a more  valuable  material,  usually  of  ivory,  for  the 
wealthy,  or  for  important  purposes.  A number  of 
such  tablets  joined  together  was  termed  a codex.  P'or 
52 


CONSULAR  DIPTYCHS 

letters  the  edges  of  one  side  were  pierced,  so  that  they 
might  be  fastened  together  with  a cord  and  sealed,  and 
with  the  broad  end  of  the  stylus  the  characters  already 
written  might  be  smoothed  over  and  obliterated,  and 
the  surface  thus  made  again  ready  to  be  written  on. 
Legal  documents,  wills  and  deeds,  were  almost  always 
on  such  tablets,  and  from  their  use  we  have  probably 
now  such  terms  as  style  of  writing,  indenture,  codex, 
and  tabula  rasa,  or,  as  we  should  say,  to  make  a clean 
slate.  The  custom,  clumsy  though  it  may  appear  to 
be,  has  persisted  down  to  very  recent  times.  It  could 
be  shown,  in  fact,  that  it  has  not  even  at  the  present 
day  completely  died  out,  and  we  shall  have  occasion  to 
notice  very  particularly,  in  their  proper  place,  the 
religious  and  secular  objects  of  this  kind  which  were  in 
use  in  mediaeval  and  earlier  times. 

But  there  are  special  diptychs  of  the  days  of  the 
Roman  consulate  and  empire  of  more  than  passing 
interest,  and  of  an  historical  value  which  it  would  be 
difficult  to  estimate  too  highly.  We  call  them  consular 
diptychs,  and  though  the  whole  of  the  series  of  these 
historical  monuments  amounts  in  number  to  less  than 
fifty  examples,  covering  a period  of  scarcely  more  than 
three  hundred  years,  yet  their  teaching  value,  and  the 
instruction  we  can  derive  from  them,  is  of  the  highest 
importance.  Any  question  of  their  artistic  value  apart, 
it  cannot  be  forgotten  that  it  is  to  the  work  of  the  ivory 
sculptor  alone  that  we  are  indebted  for  the  materials 
which  confirm  the  written  history,  and  throw  light 
upon  subjects  which  might  otherwise  remain  obscure. 

On  the  establishment  of  the  Roman  republic,  after 
the  abolition  of  royalty  and  the  expulsion  of  the 
Tarquins  in  the  year  509  b.c.,  the  highest  dignitaries 
in  the  state  were  the  consuls,  who  were  two  in  number 
and  elected  annually.  Their  power  was  at  first  very 
great,  and  equal  to  that  of  the  kings  whom  they  had 
superseded.  The  office  continued,  with  some  variations, 

53 


IVORIES 

for  the  very  long  period  of  more  than  a thousand 
years,  lasting  even  through  the  time  of  the  emperors, 
though  under  them  the  consular  power  was  consider- 
ably diminished,  and,  in  fact,  became  almost  entirely 
honorary,  retaining,  however,  a great  deal  of  pomp 
and  ceremony.  The  emperors  themselves  eventually 
took  into  their  hands  the  consular  dignity,  conferring 
it  on  others  or  assuming  it  themselves,  and  it  was  in 
this  condition  during  the  period  of  time — from  the 
middle  of  the  third  to  the  middle  of  the  sixth  centuries 
— which  we  shall  find  illustrated  in  the  series  of  ivory 
diptychs  that  up  to  the  present  have  been  discovered. 

During  the  whole  of  the  long  period  that  the 
system  lasted  the  office  of  consul  was  attended  with 
great  pomp  and  dignity.  The  consul  himself  presided 
in  the  senate  and  at  public  solemnities,  such  as  the 
pageants  and  games  in  the  circus,  so  dear  to  the 
Roman  people.  He  administered  justice,  and  never 
appeared  in  public  without  extraordinary  state  and 
splendour,  and  attended  by  the  twelve  lictors  carrying 
the  fasces,  and  even  when  the  office  became  a mere 
title,  it  was  still  the  most  exalted  position  in  the  state. 

In  connection  with  the  high  office  of  these  chief 
magistrates  a popular  custom  was  that  by  which  the 
consular  periods  served  as  a measurement  of  time.  In 
this  way  Roman  chronology  was  an  epitome  of  Roman 
history — a method  more  congenial  to  the  Roman  taste 
than  the  dry  abstraction  of  figures.  Thus,  instead  of 
referring  to  a particular  year,  one  would  have  said,  for 
example,  in  the  consulship  of  Cicero  or  Caius  Antonius. 
Much  importance,  therefore,  attached  to  the  register 
of  consuls — the  Fasti,  as  they  were  called — a register 
increasing  annually  by  two  names.  Some  marble 
tablets,  in  fact,  dug  up  in  the  forum  in  Rome  in  the 
sixteenth  century  contain  a list  of  the  consuls  and 
other  officials  for  a period  of  nearly  five  hundred  years. 
We  are  thus  able  to  assign  to  the  consular  diptychs  a 
54 


CONSULAR  DIPTYCHS 

certain  date,  and  as  mere  documents  there  can  be  no 
question  of  their  extreme  historical  importance. 

Ordinary  writing  tablets  were  usually  of  a handy 
shape.  A common  term  for  them  was  pugillares, 
because  they  could  be  conveniently  held  in  the  hand, 
and,  as  may  readily  be  imagined,  they  were  very 
frequently  used  for  elegant  presents  in  much  the  same 
way  as  similar  things  are  at  the  present  day.  Consular 
diptychs,  however,  and  other  diptychs  made  to  com- 
memorate special  events,  were  much  larger,  measuring 
generally  about  twelve  inches  in  height  by  five  or  six 
in  width,  and  correspondingly  thick  and  massive.  The 
fashion  appears  to  have  been  prevalent  of  sending  these 
magnificent  ivory  tablets  as  presents  on  the  occasions 
of  great  family  events  or  celebrations,  such  as  a 
marriage,  a coming  of  age,  or  the  like,  and  doubtless 
it  was  of  importance  that  the  ivory  should  be  of  the 
finest  description  and  of  the  largest  size  that  it  was 
possible  to  procure.  In  a similar  manner  new  consuls, 
on  their  appointment,  caused  a number  of  such  diptychs 
to  be  made  for  presentation  to  the  emperors  and  to 
their  equals  and  subordinates  on  the  day  of  their 
entering  upon  their  office.  The  size,  excellence  of 
workmanship,  and  value  of  material,  of  course,  would 
vary  according  to  the  rank  of  the  recipient.  If  intended 
for  officials,  or  others  of  the  very  highest  position,  they 
would  be  of  fine  ivory,  carved  by  the  best  artists  of  the 
time,  and  perhaps  mounted  in  gold  ; for  others  bone, 
rudely  carved  and  roughly  finished,  would  suffice,  and 
these,  possibly,  were  turned  out  by  the  dozen,  or 
hundred,  like  modern  photographs.  Some  of  these 
tablets  or  diptych -leaves  are  of  extraordinary  dimen- 
sions, again  arousing  our  wonder  as  to  the  manner  in 
which  such  very  large  pieces  of  ivory  could  have  been 
produced.  It  is  evident  that  the  size  and  beauty  of  the 
material  added  considerably  to  their  value. 

The  Emperor  Theodosius  (a.d.  380)  divided  the 

55 


IVORIES 


Roman  world  into  the  two  independent  states  of  the 
West  and  of  the  East,  the  consuls  being  retained,  one 
always  nominated  at  Rome,  the  other  at  Constantinople. 
Their  joint  names  designated  the  years,  and  when  these 
officials  ceased  to  exercise  any  real  power,  they  still 
continued  to  hold  their  former  state,  and  inaugurated 
their  periods  of  office  by  magnificent  games,  feasts,  and 
presents  to  the  senators.  It  was,  in  fact,  under  Theo- 
dosius in  the  fourth  century  that  the  presenting  of  ivory 
diptychs  by  any  but  the  consuls  was  forbidden.  The 
law  was  precise  : “This  also  we  prescribe  : that  it  shall 
not  be  lawful  for  any  but  the  regular  consuls  to  give 
away  golden  caskets  or  ivory  diptychs.  In  public 
ceremonials  the  caskets  shall  be  of  silver,  and  the 
diptychs  of  some  other  material.” 

Consular  diptychs,  then,  were  composed  of  two 
leaves  joined  together  by  hinges  or  other  methods  of 
fastening,  the  inner  surfaces  containing  wax  for  the 
purpose  of  inscribing  the  history  of  the  consul  and  of 
his  predecessors,  and  of  their  achievements  and  digni- 
ties. The  outer  parts  of  the  covers  were  profusely 
decorated,  being  as  a general  rule  carved  in  relief  with 
a figure  of  the  consul  himself  and  with  representations 
of  games  and  combats  in  the  circus,  the  release  or 
manumission  of  prisoners  or  slaves,  the  distribution  of 
bread  and  money  to  the  populace,  and  other  incidents 
of  official  life.  Sometimes,  however,  the  only  decora- 
tion consisted  of  ornaments  and  inscriptions,  with 
perhaps  the  bust  of  the  new  consul  in  a medallion. 
The  most  important  are  those  in  which  the  consul  is 
represented  at  full  length,  clothed  in  his  gorgeous 
official  robes,  or  sitting  in  the  curule  chair,  one  hand 
uplifted  and  holding  the  mappa  circensis — the  folded 
piece  of  white  cloth — as  if  in  the  act  of  giving  the 
signal  for  the  games  in  the  circus  to  begin. 

The  consular  costume  was  of  extraordinary  rich- 
ness, both  in  material  and  ornament.  It  appears  to 
S6 


CONSULAR  DIPTYCHS 

have  followed  that  worn  by  victorious  generals  in 
earlier  days  on  the  occasion  of  triumphs.  As  we  may 
observe  from  these  diptychs,  it  consisted  of  a long 
under-garment  with  long  and  narrow  sleeves,  a shorter 
embroidered  tunic,  striped  with  purple  or  embroidered 
with  palm  leaves,  and  having  shorter  and  wider  sleeves 
and  a richly  ornamented  toga,  stiff  with  embroidery  in 
gold  and  precious  stones.  It  was  the  custom  for  many 
centuries  to  ornament  every  kind  of  garment  with 
stripes  of  cloth  and  with  fringes  of  purple  colour,  the 
breadth  of  the  stripes  being  commensurate  with  the 
rank  of  the  wearer.  The  tunic  was  merely  a strip  of 
material  just  long  enough  to  wrap  once  round  the  body 
below  the  arms,  sometimes  girdled,  but  for  senators 
and  consuls  usually  ungirdled.  In  addition  to  the 
above  was  the  very  important  ornament  of  rank  termed 
the  clavus,  a strip  which  crossed  each  shoulder  and  fell 
before  and  behind  to  the  bottom  of  the  tunic.  These 
details  of  costume  are  of  no  little  importance : it  is 
interesting  also  to  note  that  from  them  are  derived 
many  of  the  important  parts  and  variations  of  eccle- 
siastical costume ; indeed,  it  has  been  thought  by  some 
that  the  dress  of  the  chief  dignitaries  of  the  Church  in 
early  days  was  identical  with  that  of  the  consuls. 

We  have  next  the  curule  chair,  or  official  seat  of  the 
magistrature,  a magnificent  piece  of  furniture  usually 
decorated,  as  represented  in  these  diptychs,  with  lions’ 
heads  and  terminal  figures,  which  were  very  possibly 
of  ivory.  The  footstool  was  of  one  or  two  steps,  and 
an  important  part  of  the  chair  which  is  prominently 
shown  in  these  ivories  is  the  cushion  on  which  the 
consul  is  seated,  because  a cushion  on  ceremonial 
occasions  was  permitted  only  to  persons  of  considerable 
dignity.  The  consul  carries  in  his  hand  the  consular 
staff  or  sceptre,  surmounted,  as  we  see  on  many  of  the 
diptychs,  either  by  a figure  of  Victory  or  by  a bird 
with  outstretched  wings — sometimes  an  eagle,  some- 

57 


IVORIES 


times  a dove.  There  is  still  existing  in  the  treasury  of 
the  cathedral  of  Aix-la-Chapelle  a sceptre  which  consists 
of  a slender  ivory  rod  with  two  large  plain  bosses,  one 
near  the  bottom,  one  on  the  top ; on  the  latter  is  a 
dove  with  expanded  wings.  This  sceptre  is  tradition- 
ally considered  to  have  belonged  to  Charlemagne.  It 
may  possibly  have  been  at  an  earlier  time  a consular 
staff. 

The  consul  is  usually  represented  standing  in  the 
case  of  western  diptychs,  seated  in  those  of  the  eastern 
empire;  but  we  have  examples,  as  in  that  of  the  Consul 
Boethius  (487  a.d.),  where  on  one  leaf  he  is  seated, 
on  the  other  standing.  The  remaining  part  of  the 
decoration  of  the  upper  portion  of  the  leaf  on  which 
the  consul  is  represented  consists,  as  a rule,  of 
supporting  allegorical  figures,  usually  of  Rome  and 
Constantinople,  pillars  with  Corinthian  capitals,  gar- 
lands, and  medallions,  and  sometimes,  after  the 
establishment  of  Christianity,  a plain  cross  is  intro- 
duced. The  name  of  the  consul  is  carved  across  the 
top  of  the  leaf,  and  the  inscription  includes  his  style 
and  titles,  often  running  across  both  leaves  of  the 
diptych,  and,  as  a rule,  expressed  by  the  formula,  “Vir 
illustris  comes  domesticorum  equitum  et  consul  ordi- 
naris,”  signifying  that  he  was  commander  of  the  body- 
guard of  the  emperor,  and  of  full  consular  dignity. 
These  inscriptions  are  often  in  very  contracted  forms, 
for  the  artist  was  limited  as  to  space,  and  was  compelled 
to  express  a great  deal  by  means  of  initial  letters  and 
symbols  only.  They  are  not  always,  therefore,  ab- 
solutely intelligible,  and  some  remain  still  undeciphered, 
or,  at  least,  are  open  to  various  interpretations.  The 
lower  part  of  each  leaf  of  the  diptych  is,  generally,  a 
separate  panel,  containing  the  representation  of  shows 
or  combats. 

The  earliest  consular  diptych  which  we  have  to 
consider  is  important  for  two  especial  circumstances. 


PLATE  J' 


I.  M.  J.  rmLiprus.  a.d.  24S 
4.  JUSTINIANUS.  A.\j.  516 


CONSULAR  DIPTVCHS 

2.  UNKNOWN.  THIRD  CENTUHV? 
5.  BOETHIUS.  A.D.  487 


3.  RUFIUS  PROBIAKUS.  A.D.  322 
6.  PHILOXENUS.  A.D.  525 


CONSULAR  DIPTYCHS 

First  it  is,  in  the  opinion  of  many,  the  most  beautiful 
and  interesting  example  of  its  kind  in  existence,  and 
next,  we  are  fortunate  enough  to  possess  it  in  one  of 
our  national  collections,  that  of  the  Mayer  Museum  at 
Liverpool.  On  the  other  hand,  it  must  be  allowed  that 
doubts  have  been  expressed  concerning  its  admission 
into  the  series  of  consular  diptychs,  and  certainly  in 
the  absence  of  any  inscription,  it  is  not  possible  to 
give  a positive  opinion.  But  if,  as  may  be,  it  is  not 
strictly  a consular  diptych,  still  it  has  many  points 
of  resemblance,  and  we  have  on  it  undoubtedly  the 
representation  of  a consul  assisting  at  a combat  with 
beasts  in  the  circus.  Possibly  this  splendid  piece 
formed  a panel  of  a cabinet,  or  of  some  other  article  of 
furniture,  or  was,  perhaps,  the  half  of  an  ordinary 
writing  tablet.  The  ivory  measures  about  eleven  and 
a half  inches  by  nearly  five,  and  is  in  an  unusually 
good  state  of  preservation.  The  subject  represented 
is  a combat  between  men  and  stags.  In  the  upper  part 
three  personages  are  seated  in  a latticed  gallery  over- 
looking the  circus,  one  of  them  holding  a cup  (perhaps 
a prize),  another  the  7nappa  circensis.  The  workman- 
ship is  most  spirited,  the  movement  of  the  stags, 
especially  of  one  dying  in  the  foreground,  is  extremely 
fine,  and  equal  to  anything  of  the  period  of  which  we 
have  examples. 

We  have  here  given  to  us  a very  vivid  idea  of  the 
way  in  which  such  combats  were  carried  out.  The  men 
engaged  are  dressed  in  belted  tunics  and  in  trousers 
confined  at  the  knees  and  ankles,  or,  in  the  case  of 
one  of  them,  in  what  looks  much  more  like  the 
modern  knickerbocker  and  woollen  stockings.  He  is 
armed  with  a spear,  with  which  he  is  despatching  an 
animal,  and  means  of  escape  are  provided — of  which 
three  other  men  are  availing  themselves — in  the  shape 
of  revolving  doors.  On  one  of  these  doors  a figure  of 
a man  has  been  added,  with  what  idea  it  is  not  easy  to 

59 


IVORIES 


imagine.  Throughout,  the  attitudes  and  expressions, 
the  life  and  movement  of  both  men  and  beasts,  are 
admirable.  With  ’regard  to  the  great  personages  re- 
presented, as  the  consul  is  not  seated  in  the  middle,  the 
central  figure  would  appear  certainly  to  be  an  emperor, 
and  the  conjecture  is  that  we  have  here  the  emperor 
Marcus  Julius  Philippus,  with  whom  his  youthful  son 
was  associated  as  consul  in  the  year  248  a.d.,  the  year 
of  the  thousandth  anniversary  of  the  foundation  of 
Rome.  We  take  this  plaque,  then,  to  be  a leaf  of  the 
diptych  of  the  consul  Marcus  Julius  Philippus.  It  is 
described  by  Millin  (1808),  and  in  his  time  was  in  the 
possession  of  M.  de  Roujoux  at  Macon. 

The  next  example  is  one  leaf  of  the  so-called  con- 
sular diptych  of  Marcus  Aurelius  Romulus  Caesar 
(308  A.D.),  and  is  in  the  British  Museum.  We  have 
here,  again,  a question  of  disputed  attribution,  and 
there  is  only  the  uninscribed  evidence  of  the  tablet 
itself.  The  subject  represented  is  of  soiwe  personage 
who  is  being  carried  in  a car  drawn  by  elephants 
towards  a funeral  pile.  Above  the  pile  is  the  apotheosis 
of  the  youthful  Caesar,  Aurelius  Romulus,  who  is  being 
transported  to  Heaven  in  a chariot  with  four  horses. 
There  is  a monogram,  the  letters  of  which  have  been 
interpreted  to  represent  the  above  - named  consul. 
Whatever  it  may  be,  this  plaque  has  little  to  recom- 
mend it  in  design  and  execution,  and  it  cannot  but 
be  regretted  that  the  consular  series  is  practically  un- 
represented in  our  national  collection. 

The  leaf  of  a diptych  of  the  third  or  fourth  century 
in  the  Biblioteca  Quiriniana  at  Brescia  has  at  the  top 
an  inscription,  “ . . mpadioru.m,”  in  Roman  capitals. 
The  two  first  letters,  which  are  missing,  are  supposed 
to  complete  the  word  Lampadiormn,  and  the  piece  has 
therefore  been  attributed  to  the  consul  Lampadius  of 
the  middle  of  the  sixth  century.  The  interest  is  in  the 
subject,  in  which  we  have  again  three  figures  in  con- 
60 


CONSULAR  DIPTYCHS 

sular  robes,  with  sceptre  and  niappa  circensis,  looking 
down  from  a latticed  gallery  on  the  games  in  the  circus, 
in  the  arena  of  which  a chariot  race  of  four  quadrigae 
is  in  progress.  The  execution  is  skilful,  and  without 
venturing  to  complete  and  interpret  the  mutilated  in- 
scription, it  may  not  be  altogether  unreasonable  to 
assign  the  origin  to  the  third  century,  whether  as  a 
consular  or  as  merely  a commemorative  tablet. 

We  come  next  to  the  complete  diptych  of  the 
Consul  Rufius  Probianus  (322  a.d.),  two  leaves,  now 
forming  the  covers  of  a MS.  in  the  Royal  Library, 
Berlin,  and  here  we  begin  to  be  on  surer  ground. 
Both  leaves  are  almost  identical,  and  the  subject  and 
treatment  deserve  particular  attention.  The  consul, 
who  is  seated,  is  not  clad  in  his  embroidered  robes,  and 
holds  on  his  knees  a long  scroll  inscribed,  "‘Probiane 
floreas,"  which  we  may  suppose  has  just  been  ad- 
dressed to  him.  He  is  attended  on  either  side  by 
a scribe  who  is  making  entries  in  a book  with  a 
style ; beneath  is  a panel  in  which  are  represented  two 
personages,  possibly  priests,  standing  on  either  side  of 
a small  altar,  and  pointing  upwards.  The  top  of  the 
leaves  is  of  an  arched,  or  pointed,  shape,  and  the  panels 
containing  the  subjects  are  surrounded  by  elegant, 
floriated  borders.  The  inscription  across  the  top  of 
the  two  leaves  is  “ rvfivs  probianvs  vc  vicarivs 
VRBis  ROMAE.”  Altogether  this  diptych  differs  in  style 
and  other  important  particulars  from  the  most  usual 
fashion  of  the  series. 

We  arrive  now  at  the  period  of  the  recognition  and 
protection  of  Christianity  under  Constantine  the  Great, 
in  the  first  years  of  the  fourth  century,  but  the  diptych 
of  Anicius  Probus  (406  a.d.)  is  the  first  after  that 
recognition  to  which  we  can  refer.  Both  leaves  are  in 
the  treasury  of  the  cathedral  of  Aosta.  On  each  we 
have  represented  the  emperor  (Honorius)  instead  of 
the  consul ; his  head  is  surrounded  by  a circular 

61 


IVORIES 


nimbus,  and  on  the  labaruni  which  he  holds  in  his 
hand  is  inscribed  “in  nomine  vincas  semper.” 

Of  the  succeeding  diptych,  that  of  Flavius  Felix 
(consul  428  A.D.),  one  leaf  only,  in  the  National  Library 
in  Paris,  exists.  And  even  here  we  are  not  yet  clear 
regarding  disputes,  for  it  has  been  ascribed  by  more 
than  one  writer  to  Felix  Callus,  whose  consulate  was 
nearly  a century  later.  The  full-length  figure  of  the 
consul  is  represented,  occupying  the  whole  of  the  tablet. 
He  stands  between  drawn-back  curtains,  clad  in  his 
rich  robes  and  holding  the  sceptre.  The  execution  is 
somewhat  rude,  yet  vigorous,  and  not  without  merit, 
and  it  would  appear  to  be  a portrait.  The  edge  of 
the  leaf  has  a border  of  egg-and-leaf  moulding,  and 
what  remains  of  the  inscription  gives  the  name  of  the 
consul.  There  is  still  the  possibility  that  the  missing 
leaf,  at  one  time  in  the  collegiate  church  of  St.  Junien 
in  the  diocese  of  Limoges,  may  be  found,  for  it  was 
lost  or  stolen  during  the  French  revolution.  It  is 
figured  in  Gorins.  The  complete  diptych  formed  the 
binding  of  a life  of  a bishop  of  Limoges,  written  in 
1461  by  Jean  Courtois,  canon  of  St.  Junien. 

Much  dispute  of  the  commentators  attends  the  next 
example,  but  at  least  it  must  be  admitted  to  be  one  of 
the  finest  and  most  interesting  of  the  series.  The 
diptych  of  Monza  (in  the  treasury  of  the  cathedral  of 
that  city)  is  complete  with  its  two  leaves,  and  has  been 
assigned  to  various  personages — consular,  imperial, 
and  royal — and  to  dates  ranging  from  the  end  of  the 
fourth  to  early  in  the  seventh  centuries.  But  without 
venturing  to  decide  a question  upon  which  such  learned 
writers  as  Gori  and  Pulszky  have  so  widely  differed,  we 
may  allow  ourselves  to  be  led  away  by  the  fine  execution 
and  beautiful  design  of  this  diptych,  and  instead  of 
attributing  it  to  such  an  age  as  the  seventh  century, 
when  art  had  perhaps  reached  the  time  of  its  lowest 
expression,  we  may  follow,  perhaps,  more  safely  Old- 
62 


CONSULAR  DIPTYCHS 

field,  who  assigns  it  to  the  Emperor  Valentinian  II. 
(380  A.D.).  Molinier  thinks  it  to  be  the  diptych  of 
the  consul,  Stilico,  about  400  a.d.,  and  that  he  him- 
self is  represented  on  one  half ; on  the  other  his 
wife  Serena,  daughter  of  Honorius,  and  their  son 
Eucharius.  On  the  first  leaf  we  have  represented  a 
noble  lady  holding  a branch  of  laurel;  by  her  side  there 
stands  a youthful  figure  in  a toga,  his  right  hand  raised, 
as  it  were,  in  benediction,  a book  in  his  left,  and  these 
two  are  supposed  by  Oldfield  to  be  Valentinian  II.  and 
his  mother  Justina.  On  the  second  leaf  is  a full-length 
figure  of  a youthful  warrior,  clad  in  an  embroidered 
tunic,  over  which  a cloak  of  the  same  rich  material, 
fastened  on  one  shoulder  with  a fibula,  falls  behind  him 
nearly  to  the  ground.  The  tunic  is  belted,  and  to  the 
belt  is  attached  a dagger  in  its  sheath.  With  one  hand 
he  holds  erect  a spear,  the  other  rests  on  an  oval, 
decorated  shield.  The  background  is  arcaded  between 
Corinthian  pillars.  The  head,  with  hair  falling  over 
the  forehead  and  close-cropped  beard  and  moustache, 
is  admirable  in  beauty  and  expression.  Altogether  it 
can  hardly  be  denied  that  amongst  all  our  classical 
diptychs,  not  excluding  even  the  non-consular  ones,  we 
have  few  finer  examples  than  this  of  Monza. 

The  two  leaves  ascribed  to  Flavius  ^tius  (454  a.d.) 
in  the  treasury  of  the  cathedral  at  Halberstadt  we  may 
take  to  be  of  that  consul  and  general  successful  in  the 
defeat  of  the  Huns  of  Attila.  They  include  representa- 
tions of  numerous  personages  and  allegorical  figures. 
Amongst  the  latter  are  those  of  Rome,  helmeted  and 
bearing  a spear  and  globe,  and  of  the  eastern  empire 
with  rays  as  of  the  sun  round  the  head.  There  are 
also  prisoners,  male  and  female,  one  of  the  latter  suck- 
ling a child.  The  attribution  to  Flavius  ^tius  is 
doubtful,  and  has  been  contested. 

We  come  now  to  the  diptych  of  Manlius  Boethius 
(487  A.D.)  at  Brescia,  the  first  of  the  eastern  empire, 

63 


IVORIES 


on  one  leaf  of  which  the  consul  is  seated,  on  the 
other  standing.  Under  the  feet  of  the  consul  lie  palm 
branches,  money-bags,  and  silver  basins,  prizes  in  the 
games  of  the  circus.  The  inscription  on  one  leaf 
“ NARMANLBOETHIVSVCETINL,”  On  the  Other  “ EXPPPV- 
SECCONSORDETPATRic,”  is  unusually  obscure,  and  has 
given  rise  to  a host  of  interpretations,  and  a volume 
of  no  less  than  two  hundred  pages  was  edited  by 
Hagenbuch,  in  1738,  containing  a number  of  learned 
essays  on  this  diptych  alone.  The  three  times  repeated 
“p”  and  the  twice-repeated  “c”  have  been  held  to 
mean  three  times  prefect  and  twice  consul.  At  the 
same  time  words  with  a quite  different  meaning  have 
been  associated  with  them,  and  in  point  of  fact  the 
question  is  still  open  to  the  exercise  of  the  ingenuity 
of  anyone. 

We  take  next  the  diptych  of  Consul  Flavius  Theo- 
dorus  Valentinianus  (505  a.d.)  at  Berlin,  which  presents 
several  peculiarities.  The  centre  of  each  leaf  is  occu- 
pied with  a bust  of  the  consul,  holding  his  sceptre  and 
the  mappa,  within  a wreath  of  elegant  design  ; above 
and  below  is  floral  scroll-work,  recalling  somewhat  the 
honeysuckle  pattern,  and  at  the  bottom  we  have  for 
the  first  time  the  two  youths  emptying  sacks  contain- 
ing money,  palm  leaves,  and  other  prizes  for  the  games, 
which  we  shall  find  later  several  times  on  these  dip- 
tychs.  Most  remarkable  are  the  medallions  beneath 
the  inscription,  in  which,  between  the  busts  of  the 
emperor  and  empress,  is  a bust  of  our  Lord  with  a 
cruciferous  nimbus. 

Of  the  consul  Areobindus  (506  a.d.)  eight  examples 
are  extant.  The  two  leaves  at  Lucca,  both  alike,  are 
our  first  instance  of  a consular  diptych  with  ornaments, 
a monogram,  and  the  inscription  only ; both  leaves 
at  Zurich  have  the  seated  figure  of  the  consul,  and 
beneath  are  combats  of  men  and  lions  in  the  arena. 
One  leaf  is  in  the  Basilewski  collection,  and  another, 
64 


2.  .^NASTASIUS.  A.J). 


CONSULAR  DIPTYCHS 

probably  the  companion  leaf,  is  in  the  Cluny  Museum 
at  Paris. 

The  Liverpool  Museum  possesses  the  next  diptych, 
that  of  Flavius  Clementinus  (513  a.d.).  Within  the 
leaves  is  the  incised  liturgical  inscription  to  which 
reference  will  be  made  in  a succeeding  chapter. 

The  diptych  of  Petrus  Sabatius  Justinianus  (516 
A.D.),  of  which  one  leaf  is  at  Paris,  consists  of  orna- 
ment only,  in  the  shape  of  a wreath,  within  which 
is  an  inscription  which  gives  us  for  the  first  time  a 
record  of  a presentation,  for  we  read  that  the  consul 
offers  “these  presents,  though  small  in  value,  ample  in 
honours.”  Both  leaves  were  in  the  TreviUzi  at  Milan, 
and  the  right-hand  leaf  is  now  in  the  Sigismond 
Bardac  collection,  Paris. 

Of  the  first  diptych  of  Flavius  Anastasius  (517  a.d.), 
formerly  known  as  the  diptych  of  Bourges,  there  are  two 
leaves  at  Paris,  and  of  a second  diptych,  one  leaf  is  in 
Berlin,  the  other  in  the  museum  at  South  Kensington. 
Part  of  another  leaf — a fragment  of  the  lower  portion 
— at  one  time  in  the  collection  of  the  Vicomte  de 
Janz^,  is  probably  of  the  same  consul.  The  character 
of  them  all  is  similar,  and  perhaps  the  most  generally 
characteristic  of  all  the  consular  diptychs  which  we 
possess.  The  youthful  magistrate  had  probably  strong 
sporting  tastes,  for  beneath  the  usual  figure  of  the 
consul  we  have  on  all  these  leaves  a number  of  varied 
representations  of  scenes  and  combats  in  the  circus,  the 
more  remarkable  and  interesting  as  it  is  to  these  ivory 
sculptures  alone  that  we  are  indebted  for  so  many 
pictorial  details.  The  lower  part  of  one  leaf  gives  us 
a portion  of  the  arena  itself,  with  the  heads  of  the 
spectators  peeping  over  the  barriers.  A very  spirited 
fight  with  bears  is  in  progress.  Two  of  the  combatants 
are  hoisted  up  out  of  the  way  in  baskets,  another 
escapes  by  throwing  a somersault  with  a pole,  and  two 
more  are  in  the  act  of  suddenly  closing  the  protective 
F 65 


IVORIES 

revolving  doors.  In  the  South  Kensington  leaf  the 
lower  panel  is  in  two  divisions.  In  the  upper  portion 
two  servants  lead  each  a horse,  whose  legs  are  plainly 
bandaged  precisely  as  in  the  case  of  racehorses  in  our 
own  times ; their  heads  are  decorated  with  long  peacocks’ 
feathers.  The  lower  corner  of  the  leaf  is  unfortunately 
broken  and  missing,  and  we  can  only  discern  one  part 
of  a scene,  in  which  a man  has  a live  crab  hanging 
from  the  end  of  his  nose,  and  is  evidently  not  enjoying 
the  situation.  From  indications  elsewhere  this  appears 
to  refer  to  some  kind  of  game  like  diving  in  a bowl 
with  the  mouth  for  crab  apples,  in  this  case  the  live 
crab  being  the  object.  The  association  is  curious,  but 
it  may  be  the  explanation.  A remarkable  ornament  on 
this  and  later  diptychs  appears  behind  the  head  of  the 
consul.  It  is  in  the  form  of  a shell,  and  has  given  rise 
to  much  discussion,  some  taking  it  to  be  a kind  of 
nimbus  or  glory.  It  is  more  likely  to  be  architectural, 
but  in  any  case  presents  difficulties.  The  leaf  at  South 
Kensington  is  of  excellent  workmanship,  and  were  it 
not  for  the  fractured  and  missing  corner,  is  in  re- 
markably good  condition.  The  complete  diptych,  now 
divided  between  Berlin  and  Kensington,  was  formerly 
in  the  church  of  St.  Lambert  at  Liege,  and  known  as 
the  Leodiense  diptych.  A very  notable  forgery,  to 
which  we  shall  have  occasion  to  refer  later  on,  was 
imposed  upon  the  authorities  of  the  Brussels  Museum 
about  the  year  1864. 

The  subjects  on  the  other  leaves  include  combats 
with  lions  and  tigers,  the  manumission  of  slaves,  the 
parade  of  racehorses,  acrobatic  feats,  in  which  women 
and  children  appear,  juggling  with  balls  in  the  air  in 
the  fashion  which  is  as  old  as  the  hills,  and  with  which 
we  are  still  familiar. 

We  may  pass  over  the  next  four  examples  of  the 
Consul  Probus  Magnus  (518  a.d.)  with  the  remark  that 
the  consul  is  represented  with  the  usual  accompani- 
66 


4 


PL  A TB 


VIII  CONSULAR  DIPTVCHS 

o I-N-KNOWN  (n'OVAKA) 


6 


3.  PlliLOXENUS.  A.D.  5:5 


CONSULAR  DIPTYCHS 

ments  of  boys  emptying  sacks  of  coins,  wreaths,  dip- 
tychs,  and  money-bags. 

The  diptych  of  Philoxenus  (525  a.d.),  both  leaves  at 
Paris,  and  one,  doubtful,  in  Liverpool,  are  a variation 
of  the  ordinary  theme.  We  have  here  three  circles 
formed  by  the  interlacing  of  an  ornamented  fillet ; in 
two  of  these  is  a bust — one  of  the  consul  in  his  robes, 
the  other  an  allegorical  one  of  the  eastern  empire,  and, 
again,  there  is  a dedication:  “ I,  Philoxenus,  the  consul, 
offer  this  gift  to  the  wise  senators.”  It  may  be  re- 
marked that  the  inscriptions  on  this  diptych  are  in 
Latin  and  in  Greek,  and  that  we  are  now  in  the  sixth 
century,  in  the  full  splendour  of  the  Byzantine  empire 
at  Constantinople — at  a time  when,  however,  sculpture 
in  ivory  had  certainly  declined  in  the  east  to  a very 
marked  degree.  A like  inscription  in  Latin — “ + mvnera 
PARVA  QVIDEM  PRETIO  SED  HONORIBVS  ALMA  {sic  for 
limpid)^" — occurs  on  the  diptych  of  Petrus  Justinianus 
(516  A.D.).  The  design  on  this  is  of  admirable  sim- 
plicity— a very  beautiful  circular  wreath  of  palm  leaves 
in  the  centre,  within  which  is  the  inscription.  At  the 
top  is  a label  with  the  title,  and  in  the  angles  are 
rosettes  of  foliage. 

The  diptych  of  Philoxenus  at  Paris  is  known  as  the 
diptych  of  Compiegne,  because  it  was  given  by  Charles 
the  Bald  in  the  ninth  century  to  the  church  of  St. 
Corneille  at  Compidgne. 

The  museum  at  South  Kensington  has  yet  another 
example  of  consular  diptychs.  It  is  that  of  Rufinus 
Orestes  (530  a.d.),  and  resembles  the  diptych  of 
Clementinus  at  Liverpool.  It  is  not,  however,  in  any 
way  equal  in  careful  execution  to  the  Anastasius  diptych 
in  the  same  museum.  It  was  formerly  in  the  Museum 
Septalianum  at  Milan. 

We  come  now  to  the  last  of  the  consular  diptychs 
which  can  be  absolutely  identified,  and  it  is,  at  the 
same  time,  the  diptych  of  the  last  representative  of 

67 


IVORIES 


the  consular  line.  It  is  that  of  Basilius,  who  was 
consul  of  the  east  in  541  a.d.  One  leaf  of  this 
diptych  is  in  the  Uffizi  at  Florence,  the  upper  portion 
of  the  other  in  the  Brera  at  Milan.  The  consul  is 
represented  in  the  usual  way,  in  his  official  robes,  a 
peculiarity  being  that  a portion  of  the  embroidery  of 
these  shows  a figure  of  himself  in  a chariot.  At  the 
bottom  of  one  leaf  is  a chariot  race  and  the  manu- 
mission of  a slave.  The  inscription  running  across 
both  leaves  is  “anic  favst  albin  basilivs  vc  et  inl 
EXCOM  DOM  PAT  CONS  ORD.”  There  are,  of  course,  a 
certain  number  of  unidentified  leaves,  and  portions  of 
leaves,  of  consular  diptychs  in  various  collections,  with 
which,  for  the  moment,  it  is  hardly  necessary  to  con- 
cern ourselves.  We  shall,  in  the  next  division  of  our 
subject,  refer  more  particularly  to  the  use  which  in  all 
probability  a considerable  number  of  classical  ivories, 
especially  diptychs,  were  subsequently  made  to  serve, 
and  may  then  notice  some  examples  of  the  practice. 

The  subject  of  consular  diptychs  has  formed  for  a 
very  long  time  a special  study.  Folios,  indeed,  of 
learned  dissertations  have  been  written  upon  them, 
amongst  which  the  work  of  the  erudite  Gori,  published 
so  long  ago  as  1759,  is  perhaps  the  most  elaborate,  and 
other  well  - known  treatises  are  those  of  Wiltheim, 
Lenormant,  Pulszky,  Wyatt,  and  Westwood. 

The  line  of  consuls  up  to  the  last  consul  of  Rome 
(Decimus  Paulinus,  534  a.d.),  and  Basilius,  the  last  of 
the  eastern  empire,  had  continued  for  nearly  a thou- 
sand years  ; and  of  this  lapse  of  time  our  ivory  records 
may  be  said  to  embrace  the  period  from  the  first  half  of 
the  third  (probably  not  long  after  the  custom  began)  to 
the  middle  of  the  sixth  century.  It  will  be  seen,  then, 
how  interesting  and  valuable  these  historical  documents 
are,  more  especially  when  we  consider  the  dearth  of 
contemporary  pictures  of  events  and  personages  in 
other  developments  of  art.  We  find  in  them,  of  course, 
68 


CONSULAR  DIPTYCHS 

I a variety  of  treatment  and  various  degrees  of  excellence. 
The  decline  of  art  was  rapid  and  persistent  during  the 
three  centuries  after  the  birth  of  Constantine  the  Great, 
and  it  may  readily  be  admitted  that  in  general  these 
works  have  no  pretensions  to  a high  artistic  value,  and, 
a few  exceptions  apart,  the  consular  diptychs  show  a 
deplorably  low  condition  of  technical  excellence.  The 
same  types  were  repeated  with  little  variation.  In  the 
case  of  portraits,  for  instance,  though  perhaps  faithful 
to  a certain  extent,  they  are,  as  a rule,  heavy  and  want- 
ing in  spirit.  For  all  that,  they  are  in  a way  astonish- 
ingly truthful  and  remarkable  when  we  consider  the 
general  condition  of  decadence  to  which  art  had  every- 
where fallen. 

One  must  imagine  that  the  artists  worked  from 
such  classic  models  as  they  were  able  to  procure,  but 
it  was  in  most  respects  but  a rude  imitation,  with  too 
much  striving  after  exactitude  in  such  details  as 
costume  and  furniture.  When  left  to  themselves  there 
was  a sublime  indifference  to  all  ideas  of  perspective, 
and  in  the  scenes,  for  instance,  in  the  circus,  or  incidents 
in  the  life  of  the  consul,  they  were  content  to  pile 
one  event  on  the  top  of  another,  and  to  be  absolutely 
careless  as  to  the  relative  proportions  of  the  figures 
introduced.  At  the  same  time  we  should  remember 
that  the  excellence  of  some  of  the  examples  which  have 
come  down  to  us  must  lead  to  the  conclusion  that 
possibly  numbers  of  others  of  equal  merit  have 
perished,  and  that  the  commoner  things  were,  in  many 
cases,  probably  turned  out,  as  it  were,  in  factories,  and 
distributed  broadcast.  We  see,  in  fact,  represented 
what  are  evidently  diptychs  poured  out  of  sacks,  by 
boys,  on  the  ground. 

It  may  be  mentioned  here  as  not  a little  curious 
and  suggestive  that,  although  our  series  embraces  a 
period  of  nearly  three  centuries  after  the  introduction 
of  Christianity,  we  find  on  these  diptychs  that  anything 

69 


IVORIES 

approaching  Christian  emblems  or  allusions  is  ex- 
tremely rare,  so  rare  that  it  is  confined  to  an  occasional 
plain  cross,  to  the  figure  of  our  Lord  on  the  diptych 
of  505  A.D.,  and  to  one  inscription. 

It  is  interesting  to  note  that  all  existing  consular 
diptychs  being  known,  and,  without  exception,  preserved 
in  national  museums,  or  in  the  treasuries  of  cathedrals, 
few,  if  any,  will  ever  come  into  the  open  market.  What 
the  value  of  one  might  be,  should  another  example  by 
good  fortune  be  discovered,  would  be  an  interesting 
matter,  in  more  than  one  sense,  for  speculation.  Gori, 
in  his  Thesmirns,  remarks  on  the  possibility  of  such 
an  occurrence.  He  says  that  a suspicion  prevailed  in 
his  time  that  in  the  wealthiest  church  treasuries  of 
Spain,  whither  gifts  flow  from  almost  every  part  of 
the  world,  many  things  of  this  kind  are  hidden,  never 
yet  made  known,  because  never  hitherto  cared  about  or 
sought  for.  But  nearly  a hundred  and  fifty  years  have 
passed  since  his  learned  Latin  treatise  was  written,  and 
it  is  doubtful  whether  a single  example  has  been  added 
to  those  that  were  then  known.  A statuette  or  figure 
of  a consul  of  the  fifth  or  sixth  century  in  the  British 
Museum  remains  to  be  noticed,  from  the  Fountaine 
collection.  The  consul  is  seated  in  the  curule  chair, 
clad  in  a toga  and  cloak,  which  are  not  embroidered  in 
the  usual  way  we  see  them  in  the  diptychs.  The  cloak 
is  fastened  by  a brooch  on  the  right  shoulder ; the  hair 
arranged  in  curls  over  the  forehead.  The  attitude  and 
expression  are  natural,  not  vacant  and  staring,  as  in 
most  diptychs. 

Of  Roman  diptychs,  or  writing  tablets,  we  have 
also  some  important  non-consular  ones,  scarcely  inferior 
in  historical  value,  and  more  beautiful  as  works  of  art. 
The  earliest  specimens  are  of  a comparatively  good 
period  of  Roman  art,  and  we  probably  owe  their 
preservation  to  the  custom  which  prevailed  amongst 
the  Roman  emperors,  high  officials,  patricians,  and 
70 


CLASSICAL  DIPTYCHS 

other  persons  of  distinction,  of  sending  valuable  objects 
of  this  description  as  presents  on  occasions  of  public  or 
private  rejoicings,  in  the  same  way,  as  we  have  seen, 
the  specially  consular  ones  were  distributed.  They 
were  sent,  amongst  others,  to  persons  of  rank  in  the 
various  provinces  of  the  empire,  and  in  this  way  they 
often  remained  in  the  countries  to  which  they  came,  or, 
as  we  shall  see,  were  adapted  to  ecclesiastical  purposes, 
and  were  preserved  in  the  treasuries  of  the  cathedrals. 
Martial,  in  the  Apophoreta,  describes  in  detail  such 
presents  given  by  a host  to  his  guests,  amongst  them 
wooden  and  ivory  books ; and  we  learn  that  the  wooden 
ones  were  covered  inside  with  wax ; but  of  the  ivory  he 
says  that  in  order  that  the  weak  eyes  of  the  recipient 
should  not  be  troubled  by  reading  on  the  dull  waxen 
surface,  the  white  ivory  should  be  painted  on  in  black 
letters.  And,  again,  in  the  Latin  poet  of  the  fourth 
century,  Claudian,  we  read  in  his  verses  in  praise  of 
a consul:  “Then  Diana  gathers  together  the  lithe 
panthers  and  other  wonders  of  the  south,  and  huge 
tusks,  which,  cut  with  steel  into  tablets  and  gleaming 
with  gold,  engraved  with  the  illustrious  name  of 
the  consul,  are  circulated  among  great  and  small  ; 
and  the  great  wonder  of  the  Indies,  the  elephant, 
wanders  about  in  tuskless  shame.”  Doubtless,  these 
large  and  cumbersome  pieces,  valuable  for  the  size  and 
beauty  of  the  ivory  of  which  they  were  made,  besides 
being  sculptured  in  many  cases  by  the  best  artists  of 
the  time,  were  used  rather  as  ceremonial  presents  than 
as  note-books  for  practical  use.  They  would  have  been 
sent  by  the  rich  on  occasions  of  marriages,  perhaps 
recoveries  from  illnesses,  and  the  like,  and  we  may 
consider  them  as  the  sumptuous  envelope  of  a letter. 
They  were  ceremonious  times,  and  such  a custom  may 
be  compared  to  that  of  old  Japan,  or  of  other  oriental 
countries,  and  to  the  elaborate  and  costly  boxes  in 
which  letters  and  presents  were  frequently  sent.  But 

71 


IVORIES 

we  can  do  little  more  than  conjecture  for  whom,  or  on 
what  occasions,  these  tablets  or  diptychs  may  have 
been  made ; the  dates  of  those  we  have  are  uncertain, 
and  the  inscriptions  puzzling.  Nor  are  they  all  of  the 
kind  destined  for  use  as  writing  tablets.  Some  are 
decorative  tablets,  or  plaques  pure  and  simple. 

Amongst  these  Roman  ivories  we  have  two  or  three 
which  may  be  ascribed  to  the  second  or  third  centuries, 
before  the  decline  in  art  had  set  in,  and  happily  the 
finest  of  these  examples  of  an  age  of  which  so  little 
art  work  of  any  kind  has  come  down  to  us,  are 
preserved  in  the  British,  South  Kensington  and  Liver- 
pool museums,  each  of  which  possesses  a specimen, 
which,  for  design  and  workmanship,  is  perhaps  un- 
equalled elsewhere.  The  three  pieces  to  which  we  refer 
are  the  Bellerophon,  the  yEsculapius  and  Hygieia,  and 
the  Bacchante  diptychs. 

The  half  of  the  Roman  diptych  of  the  third  century 
— the  dipt y chon  Mele7'etense — representing  a Bacchante, 
is  in  the  museum  at  South  Kensington.  The  tablet 
measures  eleven  and  three-quarter  inches  in  height  by 
nearly  five  inches  in  width,  a fine  piece  of  ivory, 
though  not  so  large  as  some  others  in  existence,  which 
have  given  rise  to  much  surprise  concerning  the 
method  by  which  they  were  obtained.  The  condition 
is  fairly  perfect,  allowing  for  portions  of  the  border 
which  have  been  broken  off  and  are  missing,  and  for 
vertical  cracks  in  the  surface  of  the  ivory  which  do  not, 
however,  detract  from  its  beauty.  Part  of  one  of  the 
forefingers  has  been  broken  off,  probably  in  recent 
times,  but  has  been  restored.  The  subject  is  a figure 
of  a woman,  apparently  a priestess,  making  offerings 
before  a small  altar  on  which  a fire  is  burning.  She 
is  clothed  in  a long  tunic  falling  to  the  feet,  over  which 
is  another  garment  not  quite  so  long,  part  of  which  is 
caught  up  and  thrown  over  the  left  shoulder.  The 
manner  in  which  the  drapery  is  expressed,  the  folds, 
72 


PLATE  IX 


LEAF  OF  A ROMAN  DIPTYCH 

THIRD  CENTURV 


CLASSICAL  DIPTYCH  S 

the  elegance,  and  the  indications  of  the  form  beneath 
are  of  a style  for  which  we  should  certainly  have  to  go 
back  to  the  best  periods  of  Greek  art  to  find  a parallel. 
She  wears  a plain  bracelet  on  each  wrist,  and  her  hair 
is  bound  with  a fillet,  with  which  ivy  leaves  are 
intertwined.  On  the  other  side  of  the  altar  a girl  clad 
in  a tunic  which  falls  off  one  shoulder  and  is  girdled 
at  the  waist,  her  hair  being  also  bound  with  a wreath 
of  ivy,  bears  a two-handled  vase  and  a bowl,  which 
apparently  contains  fruit  as  offerings  for  the  altar. 
The  altar  itself  is  of  an  early  classical  type,  a low 
double  cube,  decorated  with  garlands  and  fillets,  and 
scrolls  of  the  Ionic  order  forming  the  top.  An  oak 
tree,  with  leaves  and  acorns  of  the  most  refined 
conception  and  execution,  is  in  the  background,  and 
above  this,  on  a plain  tablet,  we  have  the  word 
“ SYMMACHORVM,”  part  of  the  inscription,  the  remainder 
of  which  is  on  the  other  leaf  of  the  diptych.  The 
priestess  herself  appears  to  be  dropping  incense  on  to 
the  fire  on  the  altar  from  a small  box  which  she  holds 
in  one  hand.  One  sandalled  foot  appears  as  she 
approaches  the  altar,  and  part  of  the  other  just  over- 
steps the  bordering  of  the  plaque.  The  figure  is  most 
graceful  and  imposing,  and  the  attitude  and  expression 
of  the  face  are  full  of  reverence.  The  narrow  orna- 
mental border,  which  is  somewhat  sunk  in  semi-oval 
section,  is  remarkably  pure  and  elegant  in  its  repeated 
conventional  floral  design.  Altogether  this  beautiful 
leaf  impresses  one  with  the  feeling  that  it  is  in  the 
style  at  least  of  the  best  examples. 

There  is  a remarkable  difference  between  the  design 
and  workmanship  of  such  works  as  this,  and  it  may  be 
said,  too,  the  other  examples  with  classical  subjects, 
compared  with  the  best  consular  diptychs  of  the  same 
period,  especially  when  we  consider  the  figures.  In  the 
former  the  artist  would  certainly  have  had  classical 
models  of  the  finest  periods  which  he  could  copy  faith- 

73 


IVORIES 

fully,  and  he  could  at  least  reproduce,  for  instance,  the 
flow  of  the  garments  and  the  general  style  and  expres- 
sion of  the  faces.  In  the  latter,  he  was  tied  down  to 
the  necessity  of  giving  a minute  and  detailed  repre- 
sentation of  the  decorated  official  robes  of  the  period 
which  the  bad  taste  of  that  time  exacted,  as  it  does 
to-day  from  the  photographer,  and  of  providing  also 
something  in  the  nature  of  a portrait,  and  so  was 
thrown  on  his  own  resources,  and  had  to  invent  for 
himself.  The  borders,  in  the  few  cases  in  which  we 
find  them  on  the  consular  diptychs — for  example,  in 
that  of  Probianus  (a.d.  322),  which  is  almost  identical 
with  that  of  the  priestess  diptych — are  evidently  copied 
from  older  designs.  However  all  this  may  be,  the  man 
who  executed  this  important  work,  whatever  might  have 
been  his  inspiration,  was  a great  artist. 

The  other  leaf  of  this  diptych  fortunately  still 
exists,  and  is  in  the  Cluny  Museum  at  Paris.  Both 
pieces  were  found  in  i860  at  the  bottom  of  a well  at 
Moutier-en-Der,  in  France,  and  had  at  one  time  formed 
the  doors  of  the  reliquary  of  St.  Berchaire,  formerly  in 
the  monastery  of  that  place.  The  two  learned  Bene- 
dictines, Martene  and  Durand,  who,  in  1717,  made 
their  famous  “Voyage  litt^raire,”  describe  and  figure 
them,  and  we  gather  that  they  were  at  this  time  in 
perfect  condition.  The  Paris  leaf  is  now  much  injured. 

The  Paris  leaf  also  represents  a priestess  at  an  altar, 
holding  two  torches.  The  corresponding  tablet  to  that 
on  the  Kensington  leaf  bears  the  word  “ nicoma- 
CHORVM.”  The  complete  inscription,  unfortunately, 
gives  us  little  clue  regarding  the  origin  of  the  diptych, 
or  for  whom  it  was  made.  It  has  been  conjectured  that 
it  may  have  contained  a copy  of  a marriage  contract 
between  two  great  patrician  families,  or  possibly  have 
been  an  offering  from  members  of  these  families  to  some 
temple.  The  name  Symmachus  occurs  amongst  the  list 
of  consuls,  but  the  date  of  the  consulship  of  Quintus 
74 


rniKi>  cics  rukv 


CLASSICAL  DIPTYCH  S 

Aurelius  Symmachus  is  392  a.d.,  and  we  cannot  place 
the  production  of  so  fine  a work  at  so  late  a date. 

The  diptych  formerly  in  the  Fejdrvary  collection, 
and  now,  through  the  munificence  of  Mr.  Mayer,  in 
the  museum  at  Liverpool,  disputes  in  the  opinion  of 
some,  with  whom  it  would  be  difficult  to  agree,  the 
precedence  for  artistic  value  amongst  the  classical 
diptychs  of  this  period.  It  is  also  of  the  third  century, 
and  measures  nearly  an  inch  more  in  height  and  width 
than  the  fine  piece  just  described.  On  one  leaf  Aiscula- 
pius  is  represented  standing  erect  and  leaning  on  a 
thick  club,  round  which  a serpent  is  twined.  He  wears 
a fillet,  binding  his  long  hair  which  falls  over  his 
shoulders.  He  is  bearded  and  sandalled,  and  his  figure 
is  partly  draped.  A small  figure  of  Telesphorus,  the 
genius  of  recovery  from  sickness,  stands  near  him, 
reading  a scroll,  and  on  pilasters  on  either  side  of  the 
two  figures  hang,  and  are  placed,  baskets  of  flowers 
and  wreaths.  The  left-hand  leaf  represents  Hygieia 
leaning  her  left  arm  on  a tall  tripod,  creeping  up  the 
supports  of  which  from  the  ground  is  a serpent,  which, 
coiling  round  her  shoulders,  presents  its  head  to  be  fed 
by  her  with  her  right  hand.  The  drapery  of  the  figure 
is  clinging,  revealing  the  form  beneath.  At  the  feet  of 
Hygieia  a little  cupid  holds  his  bow.  There  are  pilasters 
and  garlands  as  in  the  other  leaf,  and  from  a basket  on 
the  top  of  one  pilaster  a small  figure  allows  a serpent 
to  escape.  On  the  top,  as  well  as  on  the  ^sculapius 
leaf,  is  a tablet,  and  also  on  the  pedestal  on  both  ; but, 
unfortunately,  there  are,  now  at  least,  no  inscriptions. 
Both  leaves  of  this  diptych  were  engraved  in  1805  by 
the  Italian  engraver,  Raphael  Morghen.  Of  his  work 
four  states  exist,  one  (the  proof  before  all  letters)  being 
extremely  rare.  The  ivories  are  undoubtedly  fine 
specimens,  but  how  different,  for  instance,  is  the  treat- 
ment of  the  hands  of  the  Hygieia  from  the  delicate 
and  masterly  pose  and  execution  of  those  of  the 

75 


IVORIES 

priestess  in  the  South  Kensington  tablet ! Passeri,  in 
his  learned  treatise,  Thesaurus  Veterum  Diptychorum, 
has  a long  dissertation  on  this  diptych,  which  he  fully 
describes  and  engraves.  It  was,  in  his  time  (1759),  in 
the  Gaddio  Museum  at  Florence. 

The  plaque  in  the  British  Museum,  which  completes 
the  three  examples  of  the  art  of  imperial  Rome  at  the 
time  when  that  art — at  its  highest,  perhaps,  under 
Trajan  and  Adrian,  in  the  early  part  of  the  second 
century — had  scarcely  felt  the  decline  which  afterwards 
occurred,  is  not  inferior  to  the  two  others  which  we 
have  grouped  with  it.  In  this  admirable  specimen, 
which  is  executed  in  open  work,  we  have  represented 
the  combat  between  Bellerophon  and  the  chimaera. 
Bellerophon,  on  a winged  horse,  is  killing  this  lion-like, 
monstrous  animal  with  a spear,  which  he  thrusts  into 
its  mouth.  A considerable  authority  is  inclined  to 
defer  the  date  of  this  piece  to  the  fourth,  rather  than 
to  the  third,  century.  In  that  case  we  may  take  it  that 
even  at  so  late  a date  there  were  artists  who  had  not 
lost  their  purity  of  feeling,  or  their  skill  in  execution. 

We  cannot  accord  the  same  praise  to  the  diptych 
of  the  fourth,  or  more  probably  the  fifth,  century,  of 
which  the  two  leaves  are  in  the  treasury  of  Monza, 
though  as  an  undoubtedly — from  many  points  of  view — 
very  fine  piece  of  work,  we  are  willing  to  include  it 
amongst  the  examples  to  be  described  of  Roman 
classical  art.  One  leaf  of  this  diptych  represents  a 
female  figure  playing  on  the  lyre  with  a plectrum.  It 
is  possibly  a portrait  of  a Roman  patrician  lady.  On 
the  other  leaf  we  have  a philosopher,  with  an  entirely 
bald  or  shaved  head,  sitting  among  his  books,  scrolls 
from  a box  at  his  feet,  and  a writing  style  in  one  hand. 
The  upper  part  of  his  robe  is  open,  showing  his  chest 
and  arms  bare,  and  certainly  the  drapery  is  well  ex- 
pressed, and  the  attitude  and  anatomy  of  the  figure, 
as  well  as  the  vigour  and  naturalness  of  the  face,  are 
76 


PLATE  XI  I-  leaf  of  ROMAN  DIPTYCH  (MONZA).  =.  PLAQUE  (EELLEROPFIOK) 

3.  FRAGMENT  OF  CONSULAR  DIPTYCH 


CLASSICAL  DIPTYCHS 

very  striking.  But  the  architectural  and  other  details 
are  poor,  and  the  perspective  is  quite  extraordinary. 
The  dimensions  of  the  ivory  are  large,  the  leaves 
measuring  nearly  fourteen  inches  in  height. 

A diptych,  also  of  large  dimensions,  which  formerly 
served  as  the  binding  of  “ The  Office  of  the  Circum- 
cision ” in  the  library  at  Sens — and  is  now  in  the 
National  Library  at  Paris — is  an  example  of  a style 
of  art  of  the  third  century  of  quite  another  descrip- 
tion. On  these  leaves  Bacchus  with  his  wine  cup  and 
the  thyrstts,  and  Diana  Lucifera  in  a car  drawn  by 
prancing  bulls,  are  mixed  up  with  a sea  goddess  and 
a number  of  other  figures,  to  which  it  would  be  difficult 
now  to  assign  a meaning.  More  remarkable  and  worthy 
of  notice  is  the  diptych  in  the  Basilewski  collection. 
Both  leaves  are  almost  absolutely  identical — a most 
careful  reproduction  of  one  from  the  other.  They 
show  in  a surprising  manner — throughout  the  whole 
extent  of  each  leaf  from  top  to  bottom — combats  in 
the  circus  of  men  and  wild  beasts.  They  are  in  some- 
what high  relief,  of  very  careful  execution,  and  sur- 
rounded by  an  unusually  simple  border  in  the  Greek 
style  of  fret  and  ovule.  For  many  other  diptychs  at 
one  time  in  Roman,  Florentine,  and  Venetian  collections 
— amongst  them  the  “ Riccardianum  ” diptych  — we 
must  refer  to  Passeri’s  and  Gori’s  learned  dissertations. 
The  engravings  of  them,  though  not  perhaps  very 
accurate,  are  full  of  interest,  especially  in  cases  where 
the  originals  have  since  suffered  damage.  Finally,  we 
may  mention  the  fragment  of  a cup  in  the  museum  of 
South  Kensington,  Roman  work  of  the  second  century 
representing  a sacrificial  procession.  Before,  however, 
leaving  this  part  of  our  subject,  we  cannot  pass  by  with- 
out notice,  amongst  the  examples  of  classical  Roman 
work,  some  cylindrical  boxes  or  pyxes  which  are  to  be 
found  in  various  collections.  The  earliest  of  these  is  in 
the  museum  at  Zurich,  work  which  may  be  attributed 

77 


IVORIES 


to  any  date  from  the  first  to  the  fourth  century.  The 
subjects  illustrated  upon  it,  as  well  as  on  others  in  the 
cathedrals  of  Zanten  and  of  Sens,  are  wholly  mytho- 
logical scenes,  the  stories  of  Venus  and  Adonis,  Baccha- 
nalian groups,  and  the  like. 


LIST  OF  KNOWN  CONSULAR  DIPTYCHS 


Name  of  Consul. 

Date. 

A.  D. 

Description. 

Dimen. 

Inches. 

Marcus  Julius 

248  . 

One  leaf  in  the  Mayer  Museum,  Liverpool ; 

ilfx  4j 

Philippus 

Doubtful 

3rd  to 

three  officials  presiding  at  games  in  the 
circus 

One  leaf  at  Brescia ; inscription  “ (La)mpa- 

11^x4^ 

Marcus  Aurelius 

6th  c. 
308  . 

diorum”;  chariot  races 

The  Gherardesca ; one  leaf  in  British 

Romulus  Caesar 
Rufius  Probianus  . 

322  ?. 

Museum ; an  apotheosis 

Both  leaves  at  Berlin;  consul  seated;  priests 

5 

♦ Anicius  Probus  . 

406  . 

below 

Both  leaves  at  Aosta ; consul  or  emperor 

Flavius  Felix  . 

428  . 

standing 

One  leaf  at  Paris  (Library) ; consul  stand- 

Valentinian  11. 

ing  between  curtains 

Both  leaves  at  Monza ; a noble  lady  and  a 

13  X 6 

*FlaviusAreobindus 

434  • 

warrior 

Both  leaves  at  Milan;  bust  of  consul  in 

Flavius  Asturius 

449  • 

a circle 

Part  of  one  leaf  at  Darmstadt;  consul  seated 

7 X 5 

Flavius  Aetius 

454  • 

Both  leaves  at Halberstadt;  consul  standing; 

11  X 5f 

Manlius  Boethius  . 

4S7  . 

releasing  prisoners 

Both  leaves  at  Brescia;  consul  seated  on 

5 

Rufius  Achilius  Sivi- 

488  . 

one,  standing  on  the  other 

One  leaf,  medallions,  and  foliage ; Paris 

dius 

Flavius  Theodorus 

505  • 

(Library) : formerly  at  Seminary  of 
Gerunda,  Valais 

Both  leaves  at  Berlin ; bust  of  consul,  scrolls. 

13  X 5 

Valentinianus 

Flavius  Dagalaiphus 

506  . 

boys  emptying  sacks  of  prizes  ; Molinier 
attributes  to  Justinus  (540  a.d.) 

One  leaf  in  Basilewski  collection ; con- 

Areobindus 

sul  seated ; circus  games ; inscription 

“ FL.  AREOB.  DAGAL  ” 

* Casts  of  all  the  above,  except  those  marked  with  an  asterisk,  are  in  the 
Kensington  Museum.  The  dates  given  are  usually  of  the  first  assumption  of  the  dignity, 
though  several  consuls  held  the  office  for  a long  period  ; for  instance,  Basilius,  from  541 
to  565- 


78 


LIST  OF  CONSULAR  DIPTYCHS 


Name  of  Consul. 

Date. 

A.D. 

Description. 

Dimen. 

Inches. 

Flavius  Dagalaiphus 

506  . 

Both  leaves  at  Lucca ; cornucopiae,  vines, 

Areobindus 

n 

506  . 

and  baskets  of  fruit ; the  first  diptych 
Two  leaves  at  Zurich  ; consul  seated ; com- 

13  X 5 

J>  >> 

506  . 

bats  in  circus 

One  leaf  similar,  in  Cluny  Museum:  for- 

* 

n n 

506  . 

merly  at  Dijon 

Both  leaves ; circular  medallions  ; foliage ; 

* ? 

506  ? . 

bust  of  consul;  monogram.  Milan  (Tre- 
vulzi)  formerly  in  Possente  collection, 
Fabriano 

One  leaf  in  Louvre ; similar  to  foregoing ; 

* ? 

506?. 

on  the  back  Adam  and  Eve  in  Paradise, 
animals,  satyrs,  etc. 

Both  leaves  in  Museo  Civico,  Bologna ; 

* 

506  . 

bust  of  consul  in  medallion;  rosettes; 
formerly  in  basilica  of  San  Gaudenzio, 
Novara 

Like  that  at  Zurich ; one  leaf  in  museum. 

FlaviusTaurusClem- 

513  • 

Besan^on 

Both  leaves  in  the  Mayer  Museum,  Liver- 

15x5 

entinus 

Anthemius 

515  • 

pool ; consul  seated ; figures  of  Rome 
and  Constantinople  on  either  side ; boys 
emptying  sacks ; liturgical  inscription 
Molinier  mentions  a diptych  of  this  consul 

Flavius  Petrus  Justin- 

516  . 

as  formerly  at  Limoges,  but  now  lost 

One  leaf  at  Paris ; wreath  of  palm  leaves ; 

15x5! 

ianus 

)>  >) 

516  . 

“ MVNERA.  PARVA  ” ; one  leaf  in  Bardac 
collection  ; both  leaves  in  Aymard  col- 
lection, Le  Puy? 

Both  leaves  at  Milan ; duplicate  of  preceding 

Unknown 

5th  C. 

Two  leaves  at  Paris;  lozenge-shaped  orna- 

13^x5 

Flavius  Anastasius, 

517  • 

ment 

Both  leaves  at  Paris ; the  diptych  of 

14  X 5^ 

Paulus  Probus 
Pompeius 

))  M 

517  • 

Bourges ; consul  seated ; combats  in 
circus  on  one  leaf ; manumission  of 
slaves,  and  three  female  figures  on  the 
other 

One  leaf  at  Berlin ; similar  to  first  leaf  of 

Uix  5 

))  )> 

5»7  • 

preceding ; combats  in  circus 

The  other  leaf  of  the  preceding  in  Kensing- 

Uix5 

517  • 

ton  Museum ; races  in  circus ; man 
caught  by  crab ; the  second  diptych 
Lower  part  of  one  leaf  at  one  time  in  Janze 

4x5 

Flavius  Probus  Mag- 

518  . 

collection,  Paris ; acrobats  in  circus 

One  leaf  at  Paris  (Library) ; consul  seated ; 

Ufxs 

nus 

Rome  and  Constantinople ; boys  empty- 
ing sacks  of  prizes 

79 


IVORIES 


Name  of  Consul. 

Date. 

A.D. 

Description. 

Dimen. 

Inches. 

Doubtful 

6th  c. 

One  leaf,  bone,  in  Mayer  Museum,  Liver- 

Flavius  Probus  Mag- 

518  . 

pool ; similar  to  preceding ; inscribed 
“ Baldrico,”  etc. ; rough  execution  ; as- 
scribed  to  FI.  Probus 

Part  of  one  leaf  at  Paris ; similar  to  the 

10^  X si 

nus 

1 

518  . 

preceding,  but  wanting  the  label  on  top 
and  the  bottom  compartment ; careful 
execution 

One  leaf  in  Basilewski  collection ; similar 

Doubtful 

? 

to  the  preceding : of  walrus  bone 

Part  of  one  leaf,  at  Milan  (Brera),  as  above  ; 

0 

X 

* Flavius  Anicius  Jus- 

519  • 

wanting  label  and  lower  portion ; consul 
older,  bearded ; fine  execution ; figd. 
Gorius  II.,  pi.  iii. 

One  leaf  at  Vienna;  figured  Goriusll.,  pi.  iii. 

tinianus  Augustus 
Flavius  Theodorus 

525  • 

Two  leaves  known  as  the  diptych  of 

15  X 5i 

Philoxenus 

Flavius  Theodorus 

525?- 

Compiegne,  in  Paris ; three  circles  of 
ornamented  ribbon,  with  busts 

One  leaf  in  Mayer  Museum ; lozenge- 

12J  X 4^ 

Philoxenus  ? 

>>  11 

525  • 

shaped  ornament ; bone 

Both  leaves  at  Milan  (Trevulzi) ; lozenge 

•V 

528  . 

with  tablet  in  centre ; circles  in  angles 
with  inscriptions 

One  leaf  at  Paris  (Library) ; formerly  at 

Rufinus  Gennadius 

530  • 

Autun.  See  Millin 

Both  leaves  in  Kensington  Museum;  similar 

13  X 4t 

Probus  Orestes 
■"■Flavius  Strategius 

539  • 

to  the  diptych  of  Flavius  Clementinus 
Both  leaves ; bust  of  consul ; in  chapter- 

Apion 

Anicius  Faustus  Al- 

541  • 

house,  Oviedo.  See  Hiibner 

The  first  leaf  at  Florence ; consul  standing ; 

135x5 

binus  Basilius 

J)  >> 

541  • 

chariot  race  and  manumission  of  a slave 
Upper  part  of  the  other  leaf  of  above  at 

8x5 

Unknown 

6th  c. 

Milan  ; seated  figure  of  Victory 
Palimpsest  in  Kensington  Museum  ; consul 

5th  c. 

seated ; on  the  reverse,  scenes  in  the 
Passion ; the  lower  part  of  leaf,  treated 
in  the  same  way,  is  in  British  Museum 
Two  leaves  in  cathedral  of  Novara;  consul 

12^x5^ 

6th  c. 

standing 

One  leaf,  bone,  in  Mayer  Museum ; bust 

121x5! 

6th  c.  ? 

of  consul  within  a foliated  disc 

Two  leaves,  palimpsestically  treated,  or 

i4i  X sh 

* 

5th  or 

partly  so,  at  Monza  ; “ david  rex  ” and 
“ scs  GREGOR  ” ; consul  sitting  on  one, 
standing  on  the  other  leaf 

Part  of  one  leaf  at  Bologna  University 

6.^  X 3 

6th? 

Museum ; consul  standing 

8o 


LIST  OF  CONSULAR  DIPTYCHS 


Name  of  Consul. 

Date. 

A.D. 

Description. 

Dimen. 

Inches. 

* Unknown  . 

5th  or 
6th 

Consul  seated;  below,  combats  of  men  and 
animals  in  circus ; museum  at  Bourges, 
formerly  in  the  cathedral 

* 

l»  • • 

gth  or 
6th 

One  leaf  in  Vatican  (formerly  Barberini) ; 
bust  of  consul ; rosettes 

* 

6th 

Fragments  made  into  cover  of  a MS.  in 
Munich  library ; a consul  standing  and 
another  personage 

* 

6th 

One  leaf  in  chapter  house  at  Prague ; 
consul  seated  ; palimpsested  in  eleventh 
or  twelfth  century  and  converted  into 
St.  Peter ; head  tonsured,  sceptre  turned 
into  key,  beard  added 

G 


8i 


CHAPTER  V 


EARLY  CHRISTIAN  IVORIES 

The  transition  from  pagan  times  to  those  which 
connect  them  in  ivory  carving  with  examples 
of  Christian  art — of  that  art  which,  for  so  many 
centuries  from  now  onwards,  governed  in  its  religious 
forms  the  whole  system  of  decorative  illustration 
throughout  the  world — is  hardly  perceptible,  so  inti- 
mately are  the  two  periods  interwoven.  We  shall  cast 
a glance  at  the  early  Christians  while  yet  they  remained 
a persecuted  race,  compelled  to  remain  in  hiding,  to 
conceal  their  rites  and  ceremonies,  and  to  veil  under 
mysterious  symbols  the  pictorial  expression  of  their 
most  sacred  sentiments.  During  all  this  period  of 
more  than  three  centuries  pagan  and  imperial  Rome 
had  been  extending  its  conquests  and  increasing  its 
magnificence  under  the  first  of  its  emperors,  and  under 
the  conjoined  rule  of  emperor  and  consul ; and  at  last, 
in  the  first  years  of  the  fourth  century,  suddenly — 
almost  before  our  eyes,  as  we  review  history  briefly — at 
one  blow,  or  like  the  change  of  scene  in  dissolving 
views,  paganism  disappears,  and  gives  place,  under 
Constantine  the  Great,  to  the  teaching  of  Christianity, 
which  from  thence  onwards,  almost  to  our  own  times, 
was  to  be  the  mainspring  of  the  world’s  progress. 

We  have  already  been  occupied  with  examples  of 
pagan  sculpture  in  ivory,  illustrated  by  the  diptychs  of 
the  consuls,  and  the  other  paraphernalia  of  the  wealthy 
82 


EARLY  CHRISTIAN  IVORIES 

Roman  patrician,  and  we  must  now  hark  back,  as  it 
were,  to  notice  shortly  some  things  in  the  history  of 
persecuted  Christianity  while  it  was  still  taking  refuge 
in  the  catacombs  of  Rome,  to  pick  up  the  thread  again 
at  a time  when,  under  the  protection  of  the  emperors, 
it  was  openly  displaying  that  Christian  art,  which 
from  modest  beginnings  was  destined  to  form  the 
glory  of  succeeding  centuries. 

Interesting  as  it  is,  and  full  of  material  regarding 
the  history  of  art  generally,  it  would  be  beyond  the 
limits  of  our  subject  to  follow  the  development  of 
Christianity  in  the  early  centuries,  and  we  shall 
endeavour  to  steer  clear  of  all  considerations,  except 
those  which  touch  in  a sufficiently  direct  manner  the 
art  in  ivory,  with  which  we  are  principally  concerned. 
There  were,  no  doubt,  as  early  as  the  second  century, 
considerable  numbers  of  Christians  in  various  parts  of 
the  Roman  empire,  not  only  in  Palestine,  but  wherever 
the  doctrines  had  been  spread  by  the  apostles  and  by 
the  missionaries  sent  out  by  them  to  teach  all  nations. 
By  the  time  of  Constantine,  and  certainly  a century 
later — say,  about  the  middle  of  the  fifth  century — 
Christianity,  under  official  protection,  would  have  made 
itself  known,  and  acquired  adherents  throughout  Italy, 
France,  Spain,  on  the  north  coast  of  Africa,  and 
along  the  whole  of  the  Mediterranean.  From  Palestine 
itself  it  had  naturally  passed  through  Syria  into  Egypt, 
Abyssinia,  and  Armenia,  and  reference  has  been  made 
in  a preceding  chapter  to  Coptic  Christianity  and  the 
remains  therefrom.  After  the  earliest  days,  however, 
our  principal  concern  will  be  with  the  work  and  in- 
fluence of  that  part  of  the  Roman  territories  which  we 
know  under  the  name  of  the  Byzantine  empire,  whose 
magnificent  capital  was  Constantinople,  and  whose 
style,  which  spread  rapidly  throughout  the  west  and 
influenced  that  of  all  other  countries,  we  call  by  the 
almost  generic  term  of  Byzantine  art.  We  shall,  how- 

83 


IVORIES 

ever,  leave  it  for  a moment  and  return  to  some  general 
considerations  concerning  early  Christian  methods. 

The  catacombs  of  Rome  and  the  great  Christian  sarco- 
phagi unfortunately  yield  no  direct  examples  of  carvings 
in  ivory  to  which  we  can  refer,  but  the  similarity  in 
subject  and  style  of  execution  between  the  reliefs  on 
these  sarcophagi  and  the  paintings  and  other  work  of 
the  catacombs,  compared  with  that  of  the  early  sculp- 
tors in  ivory,  is  striking  and  interesting.  The  reliefs 
on  the  marble  sarcophagi  are  the  earliest  Christian 
sculptures  which  have  come  down  to  us.  Their  relation 
to  the  pagan  art  of  the  period  is  naturally  very  intimate, 
and  in  connection  with  sculpture  generally  is  of  the 
highest  interest  to  consider. 

In  all  early  Christian  art  we  can  hardly  fail  to  be 
struck  at  once  with  the  fondness  for  symbolism  and 
poetic  imagery,  the  avoidance  of  direct  and  realistic 
representations,  and  a tendency  to  hide  in  allegory 
mysteries  of  religion  which,  either  from  excess  of 
reverence  or  from  fear  of  persecution,  it  hesitated  to 
exhibit  too  openly.  The  invention  of  types  and  the 
mystical  signification  assigned  to  certain  incidents,  to 
certain  animals,  birds,  beasts,  and  natural  products 
generally,  seem  to  have  been  a perfect  passion.  Pictorial 
art,  and  especially  the  arts  of  sculpture,  restricted  them- 
selves to  modest  attempts  at  such  allegorical  and 
mystical  representations.  They  aimed  rather  at  a 
symmetrical  arrangement  of  the  decorative  display  in 
which  the  incidents  lay  concealed,  and  we  certainly 
find  a marvellous  aptitude  for  balance  in  composition, 
and  the  maintenance  of  an  equilibrium  which  is  seldom 
disturbed  or  irregular.  Besides,  this  leaning  towards 
symbolism  was  natural  to  the  character  and  feeling  of 
early  Christian  teaching.  It  had  itself  suffered  in  the 
days  of  persecution,  when  concealment  was  necessary ; 
it  had  not  forgotten  also  the  idolatrous  worship  of 
pagan  times,  and  feared  to  fall  into  the  same  errors  ; 

84 


EARLY  CHRISTIAN  IVORIES 

I and  for  this  reason  the  pictorial  representation  of  actual 
j scenes  had  hardly  suggested  itself  as  an  adjunct  to  the 
1 new  and  simple  religion.  The  Christians  of  the  west 
must  also  naturally  have  borrowed  from  the  eastern 
' cradle  of  their  faith  the  oriental  love  for  mysticism,  the 
fondness  for  poetical  imagery,  and  the  adaptation  of 
marvellous  tales. 

We  shall  not  find  in  our  ivory  sculpture,  perhaps, 

I all  the  various  symbols  which,  in  their  simplest  forms, 

I prevailed  so  commonly  in  the  representations  on  the 
sarcophagi,  the  mural  paintings,  the  glass,  and  other 
decorations  of  the  catacombs.  But  we  shall  see  carried 
down  for  many  centuries  and  recurring  under  various 
forms  and  adaptations  such  familiar  symbolism  as  that 
represented  by  the  figure  of  the  good  shepherd,  the 
ship,  the  fish  (one  of  the  earliest  emblems  of  our  Lord, 
expressed  as  an  anagram  in  the  letters  forming  in 
Greek  the  words  Jesus  Christ,  Son  of  God,  the  Saviour), 
the  anchor,  the  serpent,  the  monogram  of  Christ, 
known  as  the  Chi  Rho,  and  the  well-known  symbols 
of  the  evangelists.  With  such  things  as  these,  even 
complete  events  in  the  Old  Testament,  such  as  the  visit 
of  the  three  angels  to  Abraham,  typical  of  the  Trinity, 
had  symbolical  meanings  attached  to  them.  Symbolism, 
in  short,  was  a popular  and  well -understood  science. 
As  before  remarked,  also,  there  was  often  in  the  early 
days  a tendency  to  shirk  the  representation  of  the 
human  figure  and  incidents  connected  with  it,  and  to 
use,  in  preference,  such  symbols  as  doves,  peacocks, 
the  sun  and  moon,  lambs,  crosses,  the  hand  of  the 
Almighty  issuing  from  a cloud,  festoons  of  vines,  from 
which  the  juice  of  the  grape  flows  into  cups  or  chalices, 
and  the  like.  In  one  case  twelve  lambs,  representing 
the  twelve  apostles,  are  so  labelled,  but  as  a rule  the 
imagination  and  previous  knowledge  suffice. 

In  the  middle  ages  a certain  form  of  symbolism 
connected  with  animal  life  of  all  kinds — birds  and 

85 


IVORIES 

beasts  of  fabulous  and  imaginative  forms — became  an 
absolute  rage.  But  besides  the  deep  and  hidden  mean- 
ings with  which  they  were  associated,  no  doubt  the 
decorative  forms  into  which  they  could  be  twisted 
appealed  strongly  to  the  artist  of  those  days,  who  was 
ever  on  the  look-out  for  methods  of  combining  quaint 
imagery  with  some  underlying  teaching.  Nor  can  we 
forget  the  satirical  spirit  of  the  time,  which  loved  to 
disguise  in  animal  forms  the  human  qualities  which  it 
was  its  pleasure  mildly  to  castigate. 

Doubtless  the  origins  of  the  imagery  and  decoration 
drawn  from  natural  history  came  from  various  sources, 
and  the  evolutions  were  progressive.  Traditions  from 
pagan  times,  and  acquaintances  with  classical  writings 
such  as  those  of  Aristotle  and  Pliny,  early  treatises  on 
symbolism,  and  an  exaggeration  of  the  marvellous  tales 
of  eastern  travellers  filtering  slowly  as  they  made  their 
way  through  Byzantium  to  the  west,  and  gathering  on 
their  paths  fresh  accretions  and  adaptations,  will  account 
to  some  extent  for  the  use  of  certain  forms,  the  absolute 
interpretation  of  which  must  ever  remain  matter  for 
conjecture.  We  cannot  even  be  certain  of  the  real 
origin  of  such  an  apparently  obvious  symbolism  as  that 
which  is  now  universally  accepted  in  connection  with 
the  crook  or  pastoral  staff. 

But  for  the  science  of  animal  imagery  we  have  more 
means  at  our  disposal  by  which  we  may  be  enabled  to 
follow  the  evolution  of  the  subject.  They  exist  in  the 
literature  which  is  known  under  the  name  of  Bestiary, 
and  it  is  to  such  works — little  known,  perhaps — as  the 
Bestiaire  d'mnours  of  Richard  de  Fournival,  the  Specu- 
hmi  Naturale  of  Vincent  de  Beauvais,  or  the  Speculum 
Ecclesice  of  Honorius  of  Autun,  that  we  should  have 
to  go  if  we  wished  to  understand  and  appreciate  the 
subtlety  of  a science  which  was  popular  and  general, 
both  in  its  religious  and  its  secular  aspects. 

The  natural  history  of  animals  was  little  understood, 
86 


I EARLY  CHRISTIAN  IVORIES 

I 

i the  most  absurd  misconceptions  prevailed  concerning 
such  of  the  fauna  of  the  eastern  world  as  were  known 
i to  the  artists  of  the  west  only  through  the  medium  of 
works  such  as  those  we  have  mentioned,  and  by  the 
tales  of  the  rare  travellers  whose  veracity  there  were  no 
' means  of  contradicting.  And,  as  a matter  of  fact,  in 
i all  probability,  scientific  accuracy  presented  no  charm. 
We  need  only  recall  the  rhinoceros,  the  hippopotamus, 
and  the  elephant  of  the  time  of  Dilrer  and  his  school, 
to  note  how  long  the  feeling  persisted. 

The  presence  of  animal  imagery,  and  to  this  must 
be  added  the  vegetable  kingdom,  will  follow  us  for 
many  centuries  of  our  review  of  ivory  carving,  and  it 
is  for  this  reason  that  it  is  spoken  of  here  in  general 
terms.  We  should  be  carried  too  far,  later  on,  should 
we  attempt  to  dwell  upon  each  individual  instance.  We 
shall  find,  often  and  prominently,  the  lion  as  the  emblem 
of  Christ,  and,  in  another  connection,  typical  of  the  evil 
spirit  who  goeth  about  like  a roaring  lion,  seeking  whom 
he  may  devour.  Again,  the  eagle  soaring  to  the  sun  and 
recovering,  in  his  old  age,  his  youthful  vigour  by  gazing 
at  the  source  of  light  and  life.  Very  frequently,  also, 
there  will  be  presented  to  us,  especially  in  the  crooks 
or  pastoral  staves  of  bishops,  the  serpent  or  dragon 
with  various  meanings  attached,  the  ram,  the  lamb,  the 
cockatrice,  the  basilisk,  and  other  emblems.  Or  again, 
the  whale,  which,  amongst  other  attributes,  will  be  seen 
in  our  carvings  typifying  the  very  jaws  of  hell  itself. 
Countless  are  the  forms  of  strange  fantastic  animals, 
all,  no  doubt,  having  attached  to  them  some  subtle 
signification,  lost  to  us  now  in  many  cases,  but  at  one 
time  familiar. 

Very  quaint  was  the  natural  history  of  the  lion 
which  commended  itself  to  our  mediaeval  forefathers. 
It  was  said  that  in  order  to  baffle  his  pursuers  he  was 
accustomed  to  obliterate  his  footsteps  by  lashing  his 
tail,  that  he  slept  with  his  eyes  open,  that  the  cubs 

87 


IVORIES 

were  born  dead  and  came  to  life  again  on  the  third  day 
by  being  breathed  upon  by  their  sire.  It  is  not  difficult 
to  imagine  the  symbolism  which  might  be  evolved  from 
each  of  these  characteristics. 

We  may  now  pass  at  once  to  some  early  Christian 
ivories.  Unhappily  we  are  unable  to  go  back  beyond 
the  time  of  Constantine,  and  after  his  time,  or  after  the 
establishment  of  the  empire  at  Constantinople,  we  shall 
find  ourselves  merged  at  once  in  full  Byzantine  art, 
which  we  shall  treat  to  a great  extent  as  a whole,  with- 
out attempting,  for  some  centuries  at  least,  to  discrim- 
inate between  work  which  may  have  been  made  for  the 
east  itself,  imported  from  thence  to  the  west,  or  made 
in  the  west  either  by  immigrant  artists  or  absolutely 
under  the  influence  of  the  Byzantine  style.  In  review- 
ing religious  art  of  the  centuries  dominated  by  the 
dual  empire  of  the  east  and  west,  we  must  bear  in 
mind  the  force  that  religion  exercised  in  those  days, 
and  how  it  was  the  mainspring  and  the  all  in  all  of 
human  existence.  Every  action  of  life  sprang  from  it, 
every  detail  of  domestic  economy  was  practically  gov- 
erned by  it.  There  was  no  other  literature  and  there 
was  no  other  art. 

There  are  several  cylindrical  pyxes  in  various  collec- 
tions, the  most  important,  perhaps,  being  that  of  the 
fourth  or  fifth  century,  now  in  the  museum  at  Berlin. 
It  is  of  the  usual  shape,  a section  of  the  elephant’s  tusk 
carved  all  round  with  figures  in  high  relief.  The 
Saviour  is  represented,  young  and  beardless,  seated  on 
a throne  with  a cushioned  seat,  his  right  hand  raised  in 
benediction  in  the  western  manner.  Near  him  are 
seated,  on  curule  chairs,  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul,  and 
the  other  ten  apostles  stand  around.  In  another  group 
St.  John  holds  a scroll,  and  in  another  we  have  the 
sacrifice  of  Abraham  interrupted  by  an  angel,  and  the 
hand  of  the  Almighty  issuing  from  a cloud.  The 
draperies,  the  expressions  and  attitudes  of  the  figures, 
88 


EARLY  CHRISTIAN  IVORIES 

and  the  grouping,  are  equal  to  the  work  on  the  finest 
sarcophagi  of  the  fourth  century.  This  admirable  piece 
is  said  to  have  been  found  by  some  peasants  in  a village 
on  the  Moselle.  In  passing,  it  is  interesting  to  compare 
it  with  a very  well-known  gold  relic  casket  of  Buddhist 
workmanship,  in  the  British  Museum,  found  late  in 
the  last  century  in  Cabul.  The  resemblance  is  striking. 
The  casket  has  quite  the  form  of  part  of  a tusk,  and 
the  figures  chased  on  it  are  under  arches  of  Christian 
character,  the  figures  themselves  recalling  at  once  those 
of  the  apostles. 

There  are  several  other  ivory  pyxes  of  western 
Christian  workmanship,  carved  with  various  biblical 
subjects  in  the  style  of  the  sarcophagi.  A statuette 
in  bone  of  the  Good  Shepherd,  of  the  early  Christian 
period,  in  the  Basilewski  collection,  is  unique,  for  we 
shall  have  no  ivory  statuettes  to  refer  to  for  a very  long 
period,  and  it  has  also  a remarkable  resemblance  to  two 
marble  statuettes  in  the  museum  of  St.  John  Lateran, 
Rome,  which  for  this  subject  are  themselves  also  of 
extreme  rarity. 

We  may  pass  next  to  four  small  plaques  in  the 
British  Museum,  which  present  many  points  of  con- 
siderable interest.  These  plaques  measure  each  about 
four  inches  by  three,  representing  in  very  high,  almost 
full,  relief  several  events  in  the  history  of  our  Lord, 
and  especially  the  crucifixion,  of  which,  if  not  the 
earliest  known  representation,  it  is  at  least  one  of  the 
very  earliest. 

As  to  the  date  of  these  plaques  it  is  impossible  to 
be  precise,  and  we  must  content  ourselves  with  the 
wide  margin  of,  perhaps,  as  much  as  three  hundred 
years  — say,  from  the  fifth  to  the  eighth  century. 
They  have  many  points  of  resemblance — more  than 
this,  one  may  say  of  absolutely  identical  feeling  in 
the  subjects,  costume,  and  treatment — with  the  scenes 
on  the  great  sarcophagus  in  the  museum  of  St.  John 

89 


IVORIES 

Lateran,  which  is  of  the  fourth  century,  but  even  this 
does  not  help  us,  for  as  before  observed,  the  similarity 
between  early  ivory  carvings  and  the  sculpture  of  sarco- 
phagi is  remarkable  and  frequent,  and  the  style  might 
have  been  copied  during  a long  period  of  years.  But 
we  may  safely  accept  the  authority  which  gives  us  the 
seventh  century  as  the  most  probable,  and  even  then 
the  representation  of  the  crucifixion  will  remain  the 
earliest  in  existence,  for  the  next — again  in  ivory — is 
on  the  panel  of  a Carlovingian  book  cover,  of  the  eighth 
or  ninth  century,  in  the  Liverpool  Museum. 

On  the  first  of  these  four  plaques  we  have  what 
some  take  to  be  the  dispute  with  the  doctors  in  the 
temple ; in  the  next  Christ  is  carrying  His  cross,  Pilate 
washes  his  hands,  the  cock  crows,  Peter  denies  his 
Master,  while  the  maid-servant  mockingly  points  her 
finger  at  him  ; in  the  third  our  Lord  is  hanging  on  the 
cross ; and  the  fourth  is  the  visit  of  the  two  Marys  to 
the  open  sepulchre. 

With  regard  to  the  first  plaque  the  subject  seems, 
rather,  to  represent  the  incredulity  of  St.  Thomas.  If 
this  be  so,  a curious  question  is  involved.  Clearly  the 
doubting  apostle  raises  his  hand  towards  the  left  side 
of  our  Lord,  who  is  fully  clothed,  and  there  appears  to 
be  a deep  fold  or  slit  in  his  garments.  Still,  it  must 
be  admitted  that  the  fold  in  the  garment  may  be  an 
accidental  one,  or  subsequently  added.  Now  in  nearly 
every  early  representation  the  wound  in  our  Saviour’s 
side  is  on  the  right  side,  except  in  the  panel  of  the 
crucifixion  in  this  series.  In  this  panel  the  soldier 
Longinus  is  represented  thrusting  vigorously  with  his 
spear  towards  the  left  side  of  Christ.  The  spear  is  now 
nearly  broken  off,  but  the  attitude  remains.  Time  has 
given  to  the  ivory  of  these  plaques  a pleasant  dark 
chestnut  or  mahogany  colour. 

Rude  and  conventional  as  the  design  and  execution 
of  these  pictures  may  be,  naive  in  the  extreme  and 
90 


PLATi;  XII  EARLY  CHRISTIAN  IVORIES 

I TO  4.  I'ANELS  OF  CASKET.  SEN  EXTII  CEXTUKV. 


5.  IVXIS.  FIFTH  CENTL'RV 


EARLY  CHRISTIAN  IVORIES 

contrary  to  our  present  ideas  of  the  necessity  of  pro- 
portion and  perspective,  there  are  yet  a truth  and  force 
about  them  which  are  remarkable.  From  those  un- 
accustomed to  work  of  this  character  they  will  at  first 
attract  little  attention — perhaps  excite  a smile — but  if 
we  take  the  trouble  to  examine  them  and  honestly  try 
to  enter  into  the  spirit  of  the  artist,  we  shall  find 
feelings  of  sympathy  and  admiration  insensibly  grow 
upon  us,  as  they  will  grow  in  the  case  of  many  another 
example  of  an  art  which,  at  first  sight,  appears  only  to 
be  grotesque,  till  we  come  to  love  such  pictures  and 
their  touching  tenderness,  and  we  wonder  no  longer  at 
the  teaching  value,  and  the  influence  which  they  must 
have  exercised  in  the  devout  ages  when  faith  existed. 

In  those  early  days  the  face  and  figure  of  the 
Saviour  were  idealised.  Instead  of  the  suffering  ex- 
pression, which  was  adopted  much  later  on.  He  is 
usually  represented  as  very  youthful  and  smiling.  It 
is  true  that  before  long  we  find  sometimes  a more  aged 
and  bearded  type,  but  it  is  still  full  of  manly  beauty, 
with  no  realistic  indications  of  the  sufferings  of  the 
Passion.  Remark  the  figure  of  our  Lord  in  the  second 
of  these  plaques  as  He  is  dismissed  by  Pilate.  He 
goes,  as  it  were,  cheerfully,  nor  can  we  say  that  He  did 
not  do  so.  It  is  different,  indeed,  from  the  harrowing 
type,  the  revelling  in  the  horrors  of  the  sacred  event  to 
which  the  realism  of  artists  of  later  times  unfortunately 
accustomed  us. 

So,  again,  with  the  other  sacred  personages  repre- 
sented. They  are  men  and  women,  and  yet  not  realistic; 
idealised,  and  conformed  to  certain  conventionalised 
characteristics  by  which  we  readily  recognise  them  at 
first  glance.  Those  who  conceived  in  the  earliest  times 
these  types  and  representations  knew  too  well  them- 
selves what  persecution  was  and  the  sufferings  of  the 
martyrs,  and  so  they  chose  in  preference  the  cheerfulness 
of  youth,  and  declined  to  excite  compassion  by  agonising 

91 


IVORIES 

details.  There  is  no  suggestion  of  actual  portraiture. 
In  the  case  of  the  Virgin,  for  instance,  we  find  her  always 
as  a woman  of  the  people.  Often,  as  in  the  numerous 
early  representations  of  the  visit  of  the  angel  at  the 
annunciation,  she  is  spinning  at  a distaff.  There  were 
no  exaggerated  ideas  of  crowns  and  diadems,  and  star- 
bespangled  robes.  The  poetry  is  not  yet  of  the  type 
which  puts  a lily  into  her  hand.  Nor  have  we  even 
arrived  at  the  times  of  the  tender  feelings  which 
imagined  and  executed  those  wonderfully  charming 
statuettes  and  figures  with  which  the  ivory  sculptor  will 
delight  us  as  no  other  sculptor  ever  did,  when  we  come 
to  consider  them  in  that  period  of  the  highest  devotional 
feeling,  the  thirteenth  and  fourteenth  centuries. 

Up  to  the  fourth  century,  at  least,  no  types  of  por- 
traiture had  become  established,  but  from  about  that 
time  certain  apocryphal  documents  made  their  appear- 
ance, from  which  artists  drew  their  inspirations,  which 
were  gradually  accepted,  and  became  so  far  stereotyped 
that  we  are  influenced  by  them  even  at  the  present  day. 
Putting  aside  the  traditional  portrait  of  our  Lord,  which 
developed  and  asserted  itself  as  time  went  on,  it  is 
certain  that  from  the  oriental  capital  came  the  change 
from  the  early  type  which  represented  Him  as  a gentle 
shepherd  or  as  a youthful  teacher  of  a mild  and  un- 
assuming expression,  in  which  the  human  element  was 
not  forgotten,  but,  on  the  contrary,  emphasised,  and 
gave  Him  to  us  glorified,  with  all  the  attributes  of  a 
potentate,  clothed  in  gorgeous  robes,  enthroned  on  a 
magnificent  throne  sparkling  with  gold  and  jewels.  His 
disciples  and  apostles,  too,  at  one  time  plain,  simple 
men,  became  invested  with  the  character  of  rulers  and 
seated  on  the  curule  chair.  In  many  of  our  early  ivories 
St.  Peter  is  represented  with  curly  hair  and  a short 
curly  beard  ; St.  Paul,  on  the  contrary,  is  always  bald, 
and  has  usually  a long  beard.  Doubtless  in  both  cases 
there  is  good  traditional  authority. 

92 


PLATE  XIII  , LEAF  OF  THE  DIPTVCH  OF,  RAMBOXA 


2.  PANELS 

SEVENTH  CENTUKV 


EARLY  CHRISTIAN  IVORIES 

In  the  plaques  in  the  British  Museum  representing 
the  Passion  the  Jews  are  shown  in  the  almost  invariable 
manner  continued  to  the  fourteenth  century  at  least, 
in  which  we  find  them  depicted  not  only  in  ivory 
carvings,  but  in  the  sculptures  on  the  sarcophagi  which 
the  ivories  so  much  resemble,  that  is  to  say,  with 
flat  caps  something  like  carpenters’  brown-paper  caps. 
In  the  one  representing  the  crucifixion  our  Lord  is 
nailed  to  the  cross  with  the  arms  fully  extended  at  right 
angles  to  the  body,  the  head  erect  with  no  sign  of  suffer- 
ing. Judas  is  hanging  on  the  branch  of  a tree  close 
by,  and  the  Virgin  and  the  beloved  disciple  are 
approaching  the  cross.  There  is  no  scabellum,  or  rest 
for  the  feet,  and  there  is  no  sign  of  the  thieves’  crosses. 
In  the  next  representation,  in  point  of  date,  of  the  cruci- 
fixion, with  which  we  are  acquainted — the  Liverpool 
panel  of  the  eighth  or  ninth  century — the  cross  bears 
the  full  inscription  in  Roman  capitals,  the  body  of 
Christ  is  suspended  in  the  same  position,  and  again 
without  a scabellum,  and  our  Lord’s  head  is  still  with- 
out a nimbus  (there  is  a trace  of  one  in  the  British 
Museum  plaque,  an  easily  made  addition).  At  the  top 
on  either  side  are  busts  representing  the  sun  and  moon. 
Such  figures  are  very  frequent,  nearly  always  weeping, 
or,  rather,  conventionally  so  to  be  taken  from  the  manner 
in  which  the  hands  are  held  up  to  the  faces. 

Another  early  representation,  the  well-known  leaf  of 
the  diptych  of  Rambona,  in  the  Vatican,  of  the  ninth 
century,  is  marked  by  several  peculiarities.  The 
Saviour’s  body  is  so  attached  that  it  appears  hardly  to 
be  suspended.  More  correctly  speaking,  perhaps,  the 
upper  part  is  above  the  points  of  suspension.  The 
head  has  a cruciferous  nimbus,  and  on  the  short  arms 
of  the  cross  are  inscribed  “ mvlier  en”  and  “dissipvle 
ECCE,”  referring  to  the  figures  of  the  Virgin  and  St.  John 
beneath.  At  the  top  is  a bust  of  the  Saviour,  the  right 
hand  raised  in  the  act  of  benediction,  the  third  finger 

93 


IVORIES 

inclined  to  the  thumb.  The  allegorical  figures  of  the  sun 
and  moon  are  again  represented,  holding  torches,  and 
at  the  foot  of  the  cross  is  what  appears  to  be  a most 
incongruous  addition,  a figure  of  a large  wolf  suckling 
two  children,  with  the  inscription,  “ romvlvs  et  remvlvs 
(sic)  A LVPA  NVTRiTi.”  Does  it  mean  that  He  conquered 
Rome,  the  capital  of  the  universe  ? 

Allusion  has  already  been  made  to  the  manner  in 
which  nearly  all  the  important  events  of  the  Holy 
Scriptures  were  drawn  upon  to  supply  instruction  by 
their  illustration  in  the  ivory  carvings  which  have  come 
down  to  us  without  a break  from  at  least  the  time  of 
Constantine  to  the  sixteenth  century.  The  number  of 
distinct  biblical  scenes  or  episodes  often  included  within 
the  limited  area  afforded  by  a single  slab  of  ivory  is 
surprising.  Not  only  so,  but,  to  take  as  an  example,  the 
front  of  a book  cover  of  the  ninth  century  in  the  Bod- 
leian Library,  in  this  case  the  plaque  measures  but  eight 
inches  by  five,  and  a considerable  portion  of  the 
centre  is  filled  by  a figure  of  our  Lord  Himself.  Yet 
in  the  border  surrounding  the  central  figure  fifteen 
scenes  in  the  life  of  Christ  are  represented  in  a 
marvellously  distinct  manner,  each  event  occupying  a 
separate  compartment  about  an  inch  square.  Such 
plaques  are  by  no  means  uncommon,  and  we  shall  refer 
later  on  to  one  of  the  most  beautiful  ivories  in  existence 
— a piece  of  the  fourteenth  century  in  the  British 
Museum — unsurpassed  in  the  treatment  of  such  a 
microscopic  epitome. 

A favourite  subject  above  all  others  was,  naturally, 
the  nativity  of  our  Lord,  and  we  may  take  here  a typical 
instance  of  a not  unusual  manner.  It  is  a plaque  of 
Rhenish  workmanship  of  the  eleventh  century,  in  the 
museum  at  Cologne.  Very  naive,  indeed  at  first  sight 
grotesque,  is  the  method  of  treatment  of  this  and 
similar  works.  The  birth  of  Christ  takes  place  within 
a fortified  and  battlemented  enclosure  with  towers  at 


94 


EARLY  CHRISTIAN  IVORIES 

equal  distances.  The  crib  itself  is  an  erection  of  a like 
architectural  character,  through  the  windows  of  which 
two  oxen  thrust  their  heads  and  gaze  upon  the  Holy 
Child.  The  holy  Virgin  is  stretched  upon  a bed  upon 
the  ground,  and  near  by  St.  Joseph  keeps  watch  and 
guard.  In  the  upper  part  are  the  angels  and  the  star, 
and,  beneath,  the  shepherds  in  attitudes  of  astonishment 
look  up  to  the  sky  and  interrupt  their  occupation  of 
watching  their  sheep.  However  naive  may  be  the  con- 
ception, however  apparently  uncultured  the  manner  of 
the  execution,  still  with  all  this  one  cannot  but  acknow- 
ledge the  earnestness  and  the  entirely  devotional  feeling 
of  the  artist  who  was  able  to  infuse  so  much  expression 
into  the  figures  of  this  great  event.  Untaught,  working 
from  no  pictures  or  other  models  to  guide  him,  he  evolved 
these  things  from  his  own  conscious  devotion.  The  in- 
dividual figures  are  well  designed,  the  drapery  is  excellent, 
the  expression  on  the  faces,  to  those  who  are  accustomed 
to  the  spirit  of  these  things,  is  admirable  in  its  suggestive- 
ness, and  yet  there  are  the  incongruity  of  the  surround- 
ings, the  absolute  disregard  of  perspective,  which  shock 
at  first  sight.  One  is  almost  inclined  to  ask — though 
with  no  idea  of  depreciation — whether  the  artist  who 
worked  in  this  way  did  not  first  make  up  a little  model, 
after  the  manner  of  toy  bricks  and  figures,  and  then  set 
to  work  to  copy  the  whole  on  the  flat  with  such  crude 
ideas  of  drawing  as  would  occur  to  him.  An  almost 
identical  plaque  of  walrus  ivory  is  in  the  Kensington 
Museum  (No.  I44’66),  and  the  type  of  workmanship  is 
characteristic  of  a good  deal  of  Carlovingian  work  of 
the  period. 

We  shall  take  one  more  instance  of  early  western 
work  before  we  turn  to  the  examples  of  purely  Byzantine 
art,  and  to  the  outcome  of  the  influence  of  that  school 
from  its  foundation  in  the  capital  of  the  eastern  empire. 
There  are  two  tablets  of  the  sixth  century,  or  earlier, 
probably  parts  of  a book  cover,  in  the  art  museum  at 

95 


IVORIES 

Berlin  which  are  remarkable  from  several  points  of 
view.  They  are  plaques  of  fine  ivory,  such  as  we  are 
accustomed  to  in  diptychs,  nearly  twelve  inches  in 
length  by  five  in  width,  possibly  at  one  time  longer,  if, 
as  we  surmise,  a portion  has  been  cut  off  from  the 
bottom  of  one  at  least.  Of  the  first  plaque  we  need 
say  no  more  than  that  our  Lord  is  represented,  quite 
unusually  as  more  than  middle-aged,  without  a nimbus, 
sitting  on  a curule  chair,  and  in  the  act  of  benediction. 
On  either  side  are  the  busts  of  SS.  Peter  and  Paul, 
and  the  architectural  background  is  similar  to  that 
on  the  other  portion  of  the  book  cover.  On  the  second 
plaque  the  subject  is  treated  in  a manner  which  entirely 
recalls  many  of  the  consular  diptychs.  If,  as  it  is  taken 
to  be,  it  is  an  example  of  Christian  art,  we  have  here  a 
singular  instance  of  the  persistence  of  pagan  forms  and 
accessories  in  the  representation  of  religious  subjects. 
We  have,  therefore,  to  look  at  it  from  two  points  of 
view,  and  were  it  not  that  the  design  and  execution  are 
remarkably  fine,  it  might  possibly  be  regarded  as 
curious  without  attracting  much  further  attention.  An 
imperial  figure  of  a woman  is  seated  in  a curule  chair 
which  has  the  lion-headed  legs,  and  is  furnished  with 
the  usual  cushion  of  honour  and  footstool.  She  is 
clothed  in  a toga-shaped  garment,  and  her  head  is 
covered  with  a large  veil,  which  spreads  over  her 
shoulders  and  hangs  down  low,  bordered  with  a fringe. 
Beneath  the  veil  the  hair  is  either  covered  with  a close- 
fitting  sort  of  cap,  or,  as  is  more  likely,  is  dressed  in  a 
roll  and  ornamented  with  fillets.  Between  her  knees 
she  holds  a child,  whose  right  hand  is  raised  in  the 
ordinary  manner  of  benediction,  the  third  and  fourth 
fingers  joined  to  the  thumib,  and  in  his  left  hand  is  a 
rolled-up  scroll  or  book.  Behind  stand  two  attendants, 
attired  in  tunics,  with  cloaks  fastened  on  the  shoulder 
by  a brooch,  one  of  whom  bears  a globe.  The  back- 
ground is  architectural,  with  the  large  shell-ornament 
96 


PLATE  XIV  BOOK  COVERS.  HAT. IAN 


SIXTH  CENTURY 


EARLY  CHRISTIAN  IVORIES 

common  to  several  of  the  consular  plaques,  and  above, 
in  the  angles,  are  two  small  busts  representing  the  sun 
and  moon  in  the  usual  manner.  We  have  thus  de- 
scribed this  piece,  without  any  reference  to  its  religious 
character,  because,  although  we  are  undoubtedly  to 
accept  it  as  the  representation  of  the  Virgin  and  the 
Holy  Child,  it  is  an  interesting  example  of  a transition 
period,  when  the  artist  could  adapt  pagan  forms  and 
methods  to  the  representation  of  the  holiest  subjects 
and  yet  keep  absent  from  his  work  the  slightest  spark 
of  a devotional  ideal.  Doubtless,  towards  the  middle 
of  the  sixth  century,  and  even  later,  down  to  at  least 
the  twelfth,  the  ancient  classical  robes  were  still  copied — 
the  Virgin  wears  a tunic  and  chlamys,  the  apostles,  or 
saints,  as  in  the  casket  in  the  Bargello,  Florence,  togas 
— but 'in  such  a piece  as  the  present  one  it  is  not  the 
costume  only,  but  the  posing  and  arrangement  of  the 
figures,  above  all,  the  expression  of  the  faces,  which  is 
so  wanting  in  any  indication  of  religious  feeling.  It 
might  well  be  the  representation  of  some  great  empress 
with  her  child  on  her  lap.  The  expression  of  the  face 
of  the  Virgin  is  bold  almost  to  effrontery,  that  of  the 
Holy  Child  is  stern,  and  He  looks  more  like  a small 
grown-up  person  with  decided  features.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  faces  of  the  angel  attendants  (for  angels  they 
are,  as  shown  by  the  indications  of  wings)  are  charming, 
their  attitudes  protective,  and  in  wondering  admiration 
of  the  Child  in  His  mother’s  lap.  As  a classical  piece, 
there  is  a majesty  about  it,  a grandeur  of  feeling,  and 
an  excellence  in  design  and  execution  which  compel  our 
admiration.  But  when  we  associate  it  with  religious 
ideas  it  becomes  almost  repulsive.  Nothing,  however, 
is  more  interesting  than  to  compare  such  various  forms 
of  treatment,  as  we  find,  on  the  one  hand,  exemplified 
in  such  a plaque  as  this,  and,  on  the  other,  in  the 
examples  of  naive  simplicity  and  rude  execution  so 
frequent  in  the  religious  work  of  the  same  period.  Or 

H 97 


IVORIES 

vve  may  take,  for  instance,  a plaque  in  the  collection  of 
M.  de  Bastard  (figured  in  Didron,  Annales,  vol.  xvii. 
p.  63),  which  has  more  in  common  with  the  one  we 
have  just  been  considering.  In  this  the  Virgin  is  again 
seated  on  a gorgeously  decorated  throne,  but  her  ex- 
pression is  noble  and  simple,  and  without  mannerism. 
The  Holy  Child  is  properly  invested  with  infantile 
charm.  Both  figures  are  nimbed,  and  the  draperies, 
in  form  and  in  arrangement  of  the  folds,  carry  one  on 
rather  to  the  graceful  methods  of  the  fourteenth  century, 
than  to  the  stiffness  of  the  Byzantine  fixity  of  type.  So 
also  do  the  little  figures  of  angels  in  the  corners  of  the 
plaque. 


98 


CHAPTER  VI 


BYZANTINE  IVORIES 

IT  is  time  now  to  turn  our  attention  to  Byzantine  art 
in  general,  and  to  the  admirable  examples  of  sculp- 
ture in  ivory,  and  to  select  a few  at  least  of  the 
finest  and  most  typical  pieces. 

The  popular  idea  of  Byzantine  art  represents  some- 
thing which  is  characterised  by  a kind  of  grotesque  form 
of  stiffness  and  angularity ; monotonous  and  gloomy, 
with  an  affected  position  of  the  figures  which,  to  use  an 
accepted  expression  that  has  almost  become  classical, 
“ hold  themselves  like  this  and  hold  themselves  like 
that.”  It  is  usually  supposed  that,  from  its  very  birth, 
rules  and  regulations  were  laid  down,  and  never  de- 
parted from,  by  which  it  was  condemned  to  suffer  an 
immobility  which  gave  it  one  uniform  and  stereotyped 
character.  It  is  associated  with  a kind  of  barbaric  mag- 
nificence, an  overloading  of  colour,  a lavish  and  vulgar 
profusion  of  gold  and  silver,  gems  and  jewels,  gorgeous 
tissues,  and  an  exaggeration  of  oriental  splendour. 
It  has  its  enthusiasts,  its  apologists,  and  its  detractors. 
There  are  those  who  see  the  influence  of  Byzantine  art 
in  the  art  of  every  other  nation  under  the  sun,  who 
ascribe  that  origin  in  some  way  more  or  less  direct,  at 
least,  to  every  work  of  importance  of  the  middle  ages, 
who  will  hardly  concede  that  any  country  could  have 
done  its  borrowing  in  art — and  what  country  has  not  ? 
— without  the  help  of  this  intermediary.  On  the  other 

99 


IVORIES 

of  perfection,  then  again  decadent  and  sinking,  now 
wholly  devoted  to,  and  imbued  with,  the  spirit  of  religion, 
at  another  period  showing  signs  of  a return  to  the 
antique  spirit;  in  one  form  almost  proscribed  for  a time 
during  the  reign  of  hatred  towards  imagery  of  all  sorts, 
then  again  sending  out  its  artists  and  workmen  to  every 
corner  of  the  then  known  civilisation  ; at  again  another 
time  being  influenced  by  the  invasion  of  crowds  of 
western  strangers  when  the  expeditions  of  the  crusades 
poured  them  by  thousands  and  hundreds  of  thousands 
into  the  east.  Now  up,  now  down,  all  such  vicissitudes 
cannot  have  failed  to  have  had  a marked  influence  on 
the  art  which,  through  them  all,  preserved  its  peculiar 
characteristics  and  originality.  For  Byzantine  art  is 
undoubtedly  original. 

Making  allowances  for  the  influences  of  Greek  art, 
Constantinople,  from  her  geographical  position  and 
from  her  political  and  commercial  relations  with  the 
powerful  monarchies  of  the  farther  east  — especially 
with  Persia — was  bound  to  borrow,  and  she  did  so, 
frankly.  Thus,  in  the  very  characteristic  ornamenta- 
tion, which  we  find  so  frequently,  of  complicated  inter- 
lacings of  foliage  and  fruit  intermixed  with  birds  and 
animals  of  all  kinds — known  and  unknown — she  found 
inspiration  in  the  work  which  is  so  typical  and  universal 
in  India  and  Persia.  But,  naturally,  where  religion 
and  its  histories  were  concerned  she  was  left  to  her  own 
resources,  and  her  originality  is  then  incontestable.  She 
found  that  the  belief  and  symbolism,  and  even  the 
legends  which  grew  up,  were  laid  down  dogmatically. 
How,  then,  could  an  appearance  of  repetition  be 
prevented  ? A following  of  certain  methods  became 
almost  a dogmatic  necessity  in  itself.  This  would  seem 
to  be  almost  inevitable,  much  as  in  ecclesiastical  art  of 
the  present  day,  not  only  in  imagery,  but  in  the  adorn- 
ment of  the  altar  and  the  vestments  of  the  ministers, 
some  forms  of  the  most  debased  description — we  need 


102 


BYZANTINE  IVORIES 

not  hesitate  to  say,  of  the  most  blatant  vulgarity — are 
not  only  tolerated,  but  in  the  eyes  of  some  it  is  almost 
equivalent  to  heresy  to  raise  objections  to  them. 

The  fixity  of  type  in  Byzantine  religious  iconography 
— at  least,  in  the  popular  imagination — has  already 
been  alluded  to.  Doubtless  there  is  much  foundation 
for  the  idea,  but  it  is  due,  perhaps,  more  to  the  exaggera- 
tion of  the  practice  in  later  years.  The  religious  art  of 
the  Greeks  from  the  first  tended  to  be  governed  by  laws 
as  precise  as  dogmas.  Little  was  left  to  the  fancy  or 
invention  of  the  artist.  In  course  of  time  the  form  of 
the  head,  the  proportions,  the  attitudes,  and  the  attri- 
butes were  rigidly  fixed  by  tradition,  and  the  same 
indications  over  and  over  again  were  faithfully  repre- 
sented. All  this  is  more  remarkable,  however,  in 
painting  than  in  sculpture,  and  it  need  not,  therefore, 
concern  us  so  much  in  our  consideration  of  the  ivories. 
Probably,  also,  these  rigid  rules  were  more  peculiar  to 
the  later  days  of  the  Greek  Church  after  its  separation 
from  the  western,  and  as  a matter  of  fact,  our  examples 
of  Christian  sculpture  in  ivory  in  the  east  will  not  be 
many  after  the  tenth  century,  and  after  the  twelfth  will 
be  confined  to  one  or  two  of  the  very  few  of  Russian 
origin  which  are  to  be  found. 

If  we  can  trace  similarities  and  influences,  if  from 
every  aspect  it  may  not  have  been  a spontaneous  crea- 
tion, if  it  did  not  itself  originate  those  marvellous  com- 
binations of  foliage  and  imagery,  if  it  borrowed,  as 
we  know  it  did,  from  Persia,  Byzantine  art  knew  also 
how  to  adapt  and  assimilate  what  it  found  of  value  to 
the  inspirations  of  its  own  genius.  The  passion  for 
harking  back  to  the  remotest  possible  beginnings  of 
this  or  that  system  of  art,  the  search  for  absolute 
originality  which  is  often  carried  to  extremes,  and  of 
which  the  results  must  always  remain  contestable,  are 
matters  with  which  we  need  hardly  concern  ourselves. 
Neither  will  it  be  necessary,  in  connection  with  our 

103 


IVORIES 

ivory  carvings,  to  allude  to  those  points  in  other  divi- 
sions of  art  in  which  Byzantine  artists  may  have  failed 
to  reach  the  purest  and  highest  form.  Our  aim  will  be 
to  endeavour  to  select  for  comment  and  illustration  the 
most  admirable  examples  of  ivory  sculpture  and  those 
which  will  the  most  readily  appeal  to  the  imagination. 

It  is  necessary  to  allude  shortly  to  events  which  had 
— as  they  could  not  have  failed  to  have — a disastrous 
effect  on  the  arts  in  general.  It  is  surprising  that  the 
latter  should  have  been  able  to  withstand,  as  well  as 
they  did,  the  disordered  state  of  the  empire,  the  wars 
and  disasters  from  the  time  of  Justinian  (527  a.d.)  to 
the  commencement  of  the  eighth  century.  In  fact,  there 
were  everywhere — in  literature,  in  art,  and  in  the  state 
of  the  people,  and  of  domestic  habits — signs  of  deca- 
dence and  of  ruin.  Happily,  however,  for  the  arts,  the 
Church  was  predominant,  and  under  her  protection  they 
were  enabled  to  continue  to  develop  themselves  in 
security.  Suddenly  arose  the  disastrous  spirit  and  the 
mad  fury  of  iconoclasm,  a repudiation  and  a violent 
dislike  to  everything  in  the  shape  of  imagery.  Upheld 
by  the  emperors  themselves,  the  frenzied  fanaticism  of 
the  instigators  of  the  new  crusade  attacked  with  fury 
what  they  considered  to  be  idolatry.  Above  all,  religious 
imagery  excited  their  anger  and  opposition.  In  the  year 
726  A.D.  images  were  suppressed  entirely  by  edict  of  the 
Emperor  Leo.  Re-established  in  754,  they  were  again 
doomed  to  disappear  for  a few  years  about  830.  It  is 
unnecessary  to  follow  at  length  the  history  of  icono- 
clasm. Those  days  passed  away,  but  we  can  imagine 
their  effect,  not  only  on  the  treasures  of  pagan  art  which 
remained,  but  also,  and  principally,  on  religious  imagery. 
Not  even  at  the  time  of  the  destruction  of  churches  and 
religious  houses  in  England  at  the  Reformation  could 
the  excesses  and  violences  committed  have  been  paral- 
leled. As  in  England,  statues  and  shrines  were  de- 
faced and  destroyed,  and  the  frescoed  and  painted  walls 
104 


PLATE  A'y  LEAF  OF  DIPTYCH.  HVZANTINE 


rOUKTH  CENTUKY 


BYZANTINE  IVORIES 

of  religious  edifices  covered  with  limewash.  To  this 
day,  as  is  well  known,  actual  sculpture  is  prohibited  in 
the  Greek  church.  One  would  imagine  that  a revival 
of  secular  art  and  a return  to  antique  models  would 
have  taken  place,  but  it  is,  on  the  contrary,  not  until 
the  ninth  and  tenth  centuries  that  we  find  a tendency 
in  this  direction  strongly  manifested.  This  is,  how- 
ever, more  in  evidence  in  the  paintings  and  miniatures 
of  these  epochs.  The  examples  in  ivory  work  are  not 
very  numerous,  although  there  are  some  very  important 
instances,  such  as  the  Veroli  casket  in  the  South  Ken- 
sington Museum,  which  we  shall  notice  presently. 

If  we  ascribe  the  very  celebrated  leaf  of  a diptych 
in  the  British  Museum,  representing  an  archangel,  to 
so  early  a date  as  the  fourth  century,  it  is  not  that  we 
do  not  recognise  the  divergence  of  opinion  on  this  point 
amongst  commentators,  especially  foreign  ones.  But 
there  are  equally  good  authorities,  with  whom  it  is 
satisfactory  to  be  in  agreement,  who  do  not  hesitate  to 
claim  for  this  superb  work  a place  amongst  the  earliest 
productions  of  Christian  art  after  the  recognition  of 
Christianity  by  Constantine,  and  who  hold  the  opinion 
that  there  are  no  examples  of  carvings  in  ivory  of  the 
fifth  or  sixth  centuries,  or,  in  fact,  of  any  later  period, 
which  can  compare  with  it  in  excellence  of  design  and 
workmanship.  The  ivory  itself  is  of  unusual  size  and 
quality,  one  of  the  largest  known,  measuring  sixteen 
and  a quarter  inches  in  height,  by  five  and  a half  inches 
wide.  It  is  undoubtedly  part  of  a writing  tablet,  for 
the  back  is  hollowed  for  the  reception  of  wax,  but  the 
other  leaf  is  unfortunately  lost.  It  is  curious  that  for 
such  an  important  piece  no  records  are  in  existence  to 
tell  us  when  or  in  what  way  it  came  into  the  possession 
of  the  British  Museum.  Nothing  would  be  more  in- 
teresting than  to  know  something  of  its  previous  history, 
and  of  the  locality  where  it  has  been  so  carefully  pre- 
served, as  its  condition  shows  it  must  have  been,  during 

los 


IVORIES 

so  many  centuries.  We  should  be  glad,  indeed,  to  have 
positive  proof  that  this  beautiful  ivory  is  really,  as  there 
are  grounds  for  surmising,  identical  with  the  “Angelus 
longus  eburneus”  of  a b^ook  cover  among  the  books 
brought  to  England  by  St.  Augustine,  which  is  men- 
tioned in  a list  of  things  belonging  to  Christchurch, 
Canterbury,  in  1321  (given  in  Dart,  App.,  p.  xviii). 

Nearly  the  whole  of  the  field  of  this  large  piece  of 
ivory  is  occupied  by  the  figure  of  an  angel  or  archangel 
— we  may  take  it  to  be  the  latter  from  the  emblem  of 
sovereignty  in  the  form  of  an  orb  surmounted  by  a 
jewelled  cross  which  is  held  in  one  hand — standing 
erect  on  the  uppermost  of  a flight  of  six  steps  beneath 
an  arch  of  rich  design  which  rests  on  two  columns  with 
Corinthian  capitals.  Beneath  the  arch  is  the  shell 
ornament,  which  we  have  frequently  noticed  in  the 
consular  diptychs,  and  a wreath  of  leaves  tied  with  a 
fillet,  within  which  is  a small  orb  and  cross.  The  angel 
is  robed  in  a tunic  and  mantle,  which  fall  round  him 
and  from  his  shoulders,  draped  in  excellent  taste  and 
of  a rare  elegance.  The  wings  are  widely  spread  with 
beautifully  disposed  feathers,  of  admirable  design,  falling 
down  on  either  side  of  the  body  nearly  to  the  sandalled 
feet.  In  the  left  hand  the  angel  holds  a long  rod  tipped 
at  top  and  bottom  with  a small  ball,  a not  unusual 
attribute  in  Byzantine  designs.  Most  remarkable  is  the 
character  of  the  head  and  face,  the  hair  curled  in  a mass 
of  thick  small  curls,  the  neck  solidly  placed,  the  eyes 
frankly  open,  and  the  whole  expression  full  of  vivacity 
and  nobility  of  demeanour,  without  a suspicion  of  stiff- 
ness or  mannerism.  The  label  on  the  top  of  the  plaque 
has  the  inscription  in  Greek  capital  letters  which  we 
may  read,  so  far  as  it  is  completed,  “Accept  this  gift, 
and  having  learned  the  cause,”  the  remainder  being,  no 
doubt,  on  the  missing  leaf.  We  can  hardly  doubt  that 
the  Byzantine  artist  who  executed  this  fine  piece  must 
have  known  and  followed,  but  without  slavish  imitation, 
106 


BYZANTINE  IVORIES 

some  work  of  great  excellence  of  pagan  times.  An  in- 
teresting detail  is  that  the  back  surface,  prepared  for  the 
wax,  has  upon  it,  written  in  ink,  in  characters  of  the 
seventh  century,  a prayer,  but  only  the  opening  words 
are  still  legible.  Time  has  considerably  discoloured  the 
ivory,  but  this  is  not  a condition  that  we  should  care  to 
alter;  rather  may  we  look  on  it  in  the  light  in  which  we 
regard  the  patina  of  ancient  bronzes. 

With  the  archangel  diptych  may  be  classed,  perhaps, 
the  elegant  vase  in  the  British  Museum  of  a very  pure 
style,  of  which  an  illustration  is  given.  The  date  is  not 
easy  to  be  precise  about ; a century,  perhaps  two,  or 
even  three,  later  than  the  diptych.  The  detached  ivory 
ring  which  surrounds  the  foot  is  curious.  Possibly  it 
was  for  attaching  a veil  to  be  thrown  over  the  vase,  as 
it  may  be  conjectured  that  it  must  have  served  some 
very  sacred  purpose,  though  we  have  no  means  of 
forming  any  idea  what  this  may  have  been. 

Still  of  an  early  period,  though  possibly  two  centu- 
ries later  than  the  archangel  diptych,  we  come  next 
to  the  beautiful  casket  known  as  the  Brescia  casket, 
Italian  work  of  the  fifth  or  sixth  century,  preserved 
in  the  Quiriniana  Library  at  Brescia.  So  covered  with 
ornament  and  scenes  and  a multiplicity  of  detail  are 
the  ivory  plaques,  which  compose  the  top  and  sides 
of  this  casket,  that  we  shall  be  content  with  describing 
the  front.  The  style  is  quite  classical,  and  forms  an 
extremely  important  example.  A row  of  five  busts  in 
medallions  runs  along  the  top,  the  centre  one,  of  our 
Lord,  showing  Him  of  a youthful  type,  the  hair  thick 
and  combed  straight  over  the  forehead,  with  long  curls 
at  the  sides.  On  either  side  of  the  lock-plate  are,  re- 
spectively, Jonah  thrown  overboard  from  a vessel 
manned  by  rowers,  and  partly  swallowed  by  a great 
fish  ; and  again,  the  great  fish,  whose  body  is  in  huge 
coils  of  very  decorative  character,  casting  him  upon 
the  shore.  Then  we  have  the  Saviour,  youthful  and 

107 


BYZANTINE  IVORIES 


sides  of  the  casket,  measuring  each,  on  an  average, 
eight  or  nine  by  eight  to  twelve  inches,  we  have  no  less 
than  forty-one  distinct  scenes  or  incidents  represented. 
There  is  hardly  one  which  does  not  present  points,  for 
comparison,  of  interest  to  the  student  of  the  evolution 
of  Christian  iconography.  It  may  be  noticed  that, 
although  the  narratives  carry  us  on  so  far  into  the 
history  of  the  Passion  as  our  Lord  being  led  before 
Pilate  and  Pilate  washing  his  hands,  with  one  or  two 
other  incidents  connected  with  it,  there  is  no  representa- 
tion of  the  crucifixion,  or  even  of  the  way  of  the  cross. 
We  must  content  ourselves  with  calling  attention  to 
the  equally  fine  work,  of  the  same  date,  in  the  book 
cover  in  the  treasury  of  the  cathedral  of  Milan.  It 
would  be  impossible  to  omit  this,  though  we  have 
chosen  the  other  for  illustration.  For  quality  and  ex- 
cellence both  may  be  classed  with  the  diptych  of  the 
archangel. 

We  need  not  yet  leave  the  sixth  century,  which  fur- 
nishes us  with  such  admirable  examples.  The  episcopal 
chair  of  Maximian,  Archbishop  of  Ravenna  in  546  a.d., 
preserved  in  the  sacristy  of  the  cathedral,  is  entirely 
covered  with  ivory  plaques  carved  in  high  relief  with 
figures  and  scenes  from  the  Old  and  New  Testaments. 
The  chair  itself  has  a high  curved  back,  and  the  ivory 
panels  are  carved  upon  both  faces.  A few  are  wanting, 
and  have,  in  fact,  been  identified  among  some  plaques 
in  other  collections.  Otherwise  it  is  in  extremely  perfect 
condition,  and  were  it  not  for  the  slight  discoloration 
resulting  from  the  effect  of  time,  it  is  little  altered  since 
the  day  it  was  put  together. 

Ivory  plaques  with  subjects  from  the  Scriptures  are 
so  often  referred  to  in  the  course  of  our  descriptions 
that  we  need  not  now  particularise  all  those  that  occur 
on  this  chair.  The  most  remarkable  portion  for  our 
present  purpose  is  the  front,  formed  by  two  narrow 
upright  pieces,  and  between  them  a panel  on  which  are 

109 


IVORIES 

five  large  plaques  and  two  border  pieces.  The  plaques 
represent  standing  figures  of  St.  John  the  Baptist  and 
the  four  evangelists,  under  decorated  arcades  separated 
by  columns.  Above  and  below,  and  ornamenting  the 
narrow  uprights,  the  plaques  are  carved  with  a decorative 
theme  of  great  richness  and  delicacy — a branching  and 
foliated  scroll  of  vines  and  bunches  of  grapes,  amongst 
the  intertwinings  and  interlacements  of  which  a variety 
of  birds  and  animals,  peacocks,  doves,  hares,  lions,  and 
stags  disport  themselves.  On  other  ten  plaques  on  the 
chair  we  have  the  history  of  Joseph  and  his  brethren. 
The  decorative  work  is  of  elegant  taste  and  execution, 
rich  and  yet  subdued,  not  crowded  and  without  meaning, 
as  we  sometimes  find  in  eastern  work  of  a similar  char- 
acter. In  short,  it  is  entirely  typical  of  the  best  style  of 
Byzantine  treatment.  Finally,  this  fine  throne  is  inscribed 
with  the  name  of  the  prelate — “ maximianvs  episcopvs” 
— for  whom  it  was  made. 

Interesting  as  a relic,  it  is  no  less  so,  for  the  most 
part,  as  an  instructive  example  of  Byzantine  methods 
of  design  and  technique,  especially  in  the  fine  work  and 
style  of  the  borders  surrounding  the  panels,  and  in  the 
true  form  and  character  of  their  interlacing  and  twining 
branches  and  foliage.  We  find  also  several  examples 
of  the  mixture,  or  rather  adaptation,  of  different  styles; 
at  one  time  almost  entirely  classical,  at  another — es- 
pecially in  the  larger  single  figures — purely  Greek;  then 
again  with  reminiscences  of  the  early  Christian  sarco- 
phagi. One  is  inclined  to  ask  in  what  way  the  ivory 
adornments  of  this  chair  were  put  together.  Were  they 
the  work  of  one  artist  or  of  many ; made  entirely  in 
Italy  or  imported;  to  be  considered  as  a complete  design 
or  collected  from  various  sources  at  different  times,  and 
fitted  as  they  might  happen  to  suit;  all  of  them  of  con- 
temporary work  or  added  to  at  later  dates  ? If  we  com- 
pare, for  instance,  the  plaques  representing  the  history  of 
Joseph  and  his  brethren  with  the  figures  of  saints  under 
no 


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CHAIR  OF  .MAXFMIAX  AJ' 


->1X111  CENTUKV 


^ - 


BYZANTINE  IVORIES 

arcades,  we  seem  scarcely  warranted  in  the  assumption 
that  they  are  by  the  same  hand,  or,  again,  that  the  borders 
of  the  former  are  equal  in  character  of  design  and  work- 
manship to  the  other  elaborate  borders. 

The  plaques  with  the  large  figures  just  referred  to 
recall  the  diptychs  of  the  period,  and  it  is  quite  possible 
that  they  may  originally  have  been  portions  of  diptychs. 
At  the  same  time  caution  is  necessary  before  arriving 
at  such  conclusions,  and  also  in  the  contrary  case  of 
setting  down  leaves  of  diptychs  as  decorative  plaques 
of  caskets  or  furniture.  Passeri,  the  editor  of  Gorius, 
in  his  Monumenta  Sacra  Eburnea  (1759),  has  some 
remarks  to  the  purpose  which  it  may  be  well  to  quote. 
He  says : — 

“ At  Ravenna  I saw  in  the  episcopal  archives  room  the  ivory  chair 
of  S.  Maximian  the  bishop : of  elaborate  fifth-century  workmanship, 
the  sides  adorned  with  ivory  panels  about  eighteen  inches  long,  carved 
for  the  most  part  in  low  relief  by  a skilled  hand.  If  these  should 
become  detached  they  might  readily  be  taken  by  the  ignorant  for 
diptychs.  This,  unquestionably,  they  are  not,  for  they  cannot  be  taken 
for  the  consular  diptychs  which  had  their  own  ornamentation  referring 
to  the  consulate  and  its  insignia,  differing  from  the  sculpture  destined 
for  other  purposes.  Hence  they  are  obviously  mistaken  who  count 
certain  tablets  as  diptychs  which  have  no  ascription  to  any  consuhs,  but 
represent  the  muses,  poets,  bacchantes  or  gods.  These  seem  to  me  to 
have  been  book-covers,  as  the  ornaments  show.  Furthermore  there  are 
certain  representations  of  emperors  of  a later  age  which  show  no  traces 
of  hinges,  so  that  they  would  appear  to  have  been  decorations  of  state 
chairs  rather  than  diptychs  : especially  as  their  exterior  ornamentation 
ends  on  the  top  in  a point,  which  was  entirely  contrary  to  the  fashion  of 
diptychs.” 

We  must  pass  on  now,  three  hundred  years  later,  to 
an  example  of  Carlovingian  or  Italian  work,  a book 
cover  in  the  Kensington  Museum  in  remarkably  fine 
condition.  It  is  composed  of  five  large  vertical  plaques 
and  of  two  horizontal  ones  of  irregular  shape  in  a 
decorative  frame  work.  The  subject  of  the  centre  panel, 
the  only  rectangular  one,  is  the  Virgin  and  Child ; on 
the  panels,  on  either  side,  there  are,  on  left  and  right  re- 
spectively, two  figures,  probably  Isaiah  and  Melchisedek, 


IVORIES 

the  latter  bearing  a censer  and  incense-box.  All  are 
in  rich  architectural  surroundings.  The  top  panel  has 
two  charming  figures  of  angels  floating  on  clouds, 
and  supporting  between  them  a medallion  with  a bust 
of  the  Saviour.  The  wings  and  draperies  are  delight- 
fully treated,  the  latter  contracted  and  bound  near  the 
knees,  and  floating  out  again.  They  are  in  the  manner 
of  the  early  Christian  monuments,  such  as  the  sarcophagi 
and  the  Rambona  tablet  of  the  crucifixion.  Beneath  are 
the  Nativity,  and  the  angels  appearing  to  the  shepherds. 
We  have  here,  again,  the  stable  and  crib  conventionally 
depicted  as  a kind  of  a classic  temple,  the  ever-present 
oxen  quite  too  large  in  proportion,  so  that  the  temple 
is  hardly  big  enough  to  contain  them,  but  this  frequent 
manner  is  wholly  decorative  in  intention.  The  museum 
at  South  Kensington,  where  this  piece  now  is  (acquired 
in  1866  at  a cost  of  nearly  £600,  much  less  than  its 
probable  present  value),  has  no  finer  example  of  the 
style  and  period,  and  we  should  have  to  search  far  to 
find  its  equal. 

On  a question  of  so  much  difficulty  as  the  ascription 
and  date  of  this  splendid  book  cover,  we  may  be  quite 
content  to  accept  the  opinion  of  the  learned  author  of 
the  Catalogue  of  Ancient  and  Mediceval  Ivories  in  the 
South  Kensington  Museum.  He  gives  them  as  Carlo- 
vingian  of  the  ninth  century.  At  the  same  time  it  will 
be  of  interest,  and  serve  as  an  excellent  object  lesson, 
to  call  attention  to  the  very  similar  book  cover  in  the 
Vatican,  which  is  claimed  as  Italian  work  of  two,  or 
perhaps  three,  centuries  earlier.  The  resemblance  is 
certainly  very  striking,  although  the  workmanship  is 
coarser.  The  illustration  which  we  give  from  a cast 
of  the  plaques  from  the  Vatican  book  cover  will  suffice 
to  show  the  points  of  difference. 

The  remarkable  treatment  of  an  arabesque  of  scrolled 
foliage,  in  which  animals  also  appear,  is  well  illustrated 
in  portions  of  two  plaques  of  a book  cover,  also  of  the 


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PLAl'J-  .\X  ];OOR  (.fiVKKS.  ,\S(  K I IIKI  i ’JO  ’I  HK  jMOXK  TUTILO 


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BYZANTINE  IVORIES 

ninth  century,  in  the  library  of  the  monastery  of  St.  Gall 
in  Switzerland.  St.  Gall  is  connected  in  legends  with 
bears,  and  these  animals  frequently  appear.  One  of  the 
plaques  represents  the  ascension  of  the  Virgin.  The 
I drapery  is  extraordinary,  poor,  and  grotesque.  The 
work  is  ascribed  to  the  monk  Tutilo,  on  what  authority 
we  know  not,  but  worth  mentioning,  as  the  names  of 
artists  are — for  many  centuries — entirely  wanting.  The 
story  of  Tutilo,  or  Tuotilo,  is,  however,  probably  more 
legendary  than  real.  A history  which  is  quite  wonderful 
in  its  minute  details  has  been  woven  around  him,  and, 
after  all,  there  appears  to  be  nothing  in  the  least  degree 
certain,  except  that  a monk  of  the  name  was  guest-master 
of  the  abbey  of  St.  Gall  in  912  a.d.,  to  whom  numbers 
of  other  things,  such  as  altar  fronts  in  gold  and  bronze, 
are  attributed. 

It  may  be  that  the  gap  in  the  series  of  illustrations 
which  we  have  selected  carries  us  on  three  centuries 
further,  but  it  is  an  interesting  and  extremely  popular 
subject  to  which  we  now  come,  and  one  which  is  always 
treated  with  perhaps  more  pathetic  feeling  than  any 
other.  It  could  hardly  be  otherwise,  for  it  represents 
the  death  of  the  Blessed  Virgin,  that  central  figure 
which  is  rarely  absent  during  so  many  centuries  of 
Christian  art,  and  approached  in  so  many  different 
ways — now  with  great  simplicity  as  a woman  of  the 
people,  then  again  glorified  with  the  attributes  of  human 
power,  later  still,  as  in  the  charming  statuettes  of  the 
middle  ages,  as  the  Mother  of  the  divine  Child,  always 
with  tenderness  and  affection.  The  subject  of  her  death 
is  almost  invariably  treated  in  the  periods  we  are  now 
considering  in  the  same  manner,  with  the  same  attendant 
figures  and  attributes.  The  one  which  we  select  is,  there- 
fore, representative.  It  is  Byzantine  of  the  eleventh  or 
twelfth  century,  in  the  Art  Museum,  Berlin.  The  Blessed 
Virgin  is  stretched  on  her  deathbed,  the  head  raised  and 
surrounded  by  a jewelled  nimbus.  Around  are  some 
I 113 


IVORIES 

fifteen  figures  of  disciples  and  apostles,  many  in  attitudes 
of  grief.  One  of  them,  with  a remarkable  resemblance 
to  the  traditional  type  of  St.  Paul,  stoops  to  arrange  the 
drapery  at  her  feet ; another,  at  the  head  of  the  couch, 
swings  a censer  over  the  body.  In  the  centre,  apart 
from  the  others,  appears  our  Lord,  holding  aloft  in  His 
hands  a small  infantile  bust  representing  the  soul  of  the 
Virgin,  which  two  descending  angels  hovering  above, 
with  wings  extending  upwards,  are  prepared  to  receive 
in  their  hands,  reverently  covered  with  the  sleeves  of  their 
garments.  The  composition  is  framed  and  surmounted 
by  a pierced  Byzantine  canopy.  Again  we  must  call 
attention  to  the  balance  of  such  compositions  ; the  con- 
trasting vertical  lines  of  the  figures  of  the  attendants,  and 
the  central  one  of  the  Saviour,  with  the  curved  horizontal 
disposition  of  the  recumbent  body,  and  the  winged  angels 
in  the  upper  part.  We  have  a plaque  of  similar  character 
in  the  museum  at  South  Kensington.  The  subject  was 
for  centuries  extremely  popular.  Following  the  received 
tradition,  which  may  be  found  at  great  length  and  poet- 
ically given  in  the  Golden  Legend,  the  Virgin,  having 
arrived  at  the  age  of  sixty  years,  received  intimation 
from  an  angel  of  her  approaching  death.  Miraculously 
brought  from  all  parts,  the  apostles  were  present.  The 
Saviour  himself  appeared,  surrounded  by  patriarchs, 
martyrs  and  confessors,  and  the  heavenly  host.  And  so 
took  place  the  dormition,  as  the  more  reverent  term  ex- 
presses it,  of  the  Blessed  Virgin.  Of  her  tomb  there  is 
no  trace  or  record,  neither  has  any  relic  of  the  sacred 
body  ever  been  venerated. 

A round-headed  Byzantine  triptych  of  the  eleventh 
century,  in  the  Cabinet  des  Medailles  at  Paris,  is  con- 
sidered by  some  to  be  the  most  beautiful  specimen  of 
Byzantine  art  in  existence.  As  with  other  pieces,  the 
range  of  date  which  may  be  given  is  extensive.  It  is 
most  probably  of  the  eleventh  century,  at  the  same 
time  some  are  inclined  to  place  it  so  late  as  the  end  of 


PLATE 


2 


XXI  I.  PLAQUE.  DORJIITION  OF  THE  B.V.M.  I'.YZANTINE 
eleventh  centukv 

2.  PLAQUE.  THE  NATIVITY.  RHENISH. 
eleventh  century 


BYZANTINE  IVORIES 

the  thirteenth.  In  the  centre  compartment  we  have  the 
crucifixion,  with  the  Virgin  and  St.  John  on  either  side 
of  the  cross,  these  figures  treated  with  the  mannerism 
which  gives  them  an  abnormally  elongated  anatomy, 
and  the  straight,  close  folds  in  the  drapery  which 
generally  accompany  this  type.  Lower  down  are  placed 
on  either  side  Constantine  and  the  Empress  Helen,  of 
microscopic  proportions,  no  doubt  from  a feeling  of 
reverence.  The  Christ  is  of  the  type  which  does  not 
seek  to  horrify  us  by  a realistic  representation  of  suffer- 
ing. The  proportions  of  the  figure,  which  is  upright, 
with  the  arms  fully  extended,  the  feet  apart,  resting  on 
a scabellum,  are  correct,  and  the  body  is  draped  in  a 
short  skirt.  The  sun  and  moon  above  are  here  shown 
in  the  usual  conventional,  instead  of  the  allegorical, 
manner.  On  the  folding  doors  of  the  triptych  are  busts 
of  several  saints  in  medallions,  with  the  name  on  each. 
It  is  a remarkable  piece,  though  we  may  not  be  able  to 
share  the  enthusiasm  which  it  has  excited.  Of  similar 
style,  but  more  charming,  is  the  triptych,  lately  .sold 
at  the  Gibson-Carmichael  sale  for  ^^1,900,  which  had 
successively  ornamented  the  Soltikoff,  Seilliere,  Spitzer, 
and  Hartmann  collections. 

There  is  a typical  example  of  the  same  method  of 
treatment  of  the  figure  and  draperies  in  an  unquestion- 
ably fine  ivory  of  the  same  period  representing  St.  John. 
The  tall  and  carefully  carved  figure  is  clothed  in  a long 
robe  with  close  and  straight  folds.  Above  this  he  wears 
a cloak  edged  with  fur,  a fashion  peculiar  to  representa- 
tions of  the  Baptist. 

We  have  now  to  consider  an  important  and  very 
curious  work  in  the  museum  at  Kensington,  concerning 
which  we  may  at  once  say  that  we  are  doubtful  whether 
we  ought  to  include  it  amongst  Byzantine  ivories,  or  to 
assign  to  it  an  origin  of  peculiar  interest  to  us — viz.  an 
Anglo-Saxon  one — at  the  same  time  that  the  Byzan- 
tine influences  may  be  fully  admitted.  We  hesitate  to 

115 


IVORIES 

run  counter  to  the  judgment  of  such  an  acknowledged 
authority  as  the  writer  of  the  museum  catalogue,  who 
pronounces  the  piece  in  question  to  be  Anglo-Saxon 
work  of  the  eleventh  century,  but,  while  allowing  it  to 
be  northern  work — possibly  North  German — in  the 
face  of  certain  characteristics,  and  also  because  our 
plan  will  not  permit  of  reserving  distinct  sections  to 
every  national  work  of  the  centuries  down  to  gothic 
times,  it  will  be  most  convenient  to  take  this  remark- 
able piece  at  this  point. 

The  material  is  not  true  ivory,  but  bone  of  a very 
fine  texture,  possibly  the  bone  of  a whale.  It  is  of  con- 
siderable dimensions,  measuring  fourteen  inches  by  six 
and  a quarter.  The  manner  of  representation — the  sub- 
ject being  the  visit  of  the  Magi — is  extremely  curious. 
The  figure  of  the  Virgin,  who  is  seated  with  the  Holy 
Child  on  her  lap,  is  out  of  all  proportion  in  its  gigantic 
stature  to  those  of  the  three  kings  close  by  her  side. 
Very  quaint  is  the  manner  in  which  the  artist  has  not 
hesitated  to  allow  the  vertical  lines  of  the  architectural 
background  to  slope  inwards  in  order  to  accommodate 
the  restricted  dimensions  of  the  upper  part  of  the 
plaque.  The  most  interesting  parts  of  the  details  are 
the  costumes  of  the  Virgin  and  Child.  Their  robes  are 
of  great  richness,  with  pearled  and  diapered  borders. 
The  hair  of  the  Virgin  is  arranged  in  narrow  bands  or 
rolls,  a veil  falls  from  the  back  of  the  head,  and  over 
this  is  a broad  circlet  or  diadem,  jewelled.  She  wears 
a richly  decorated  tunic  and  cloak,  and  pointed  shoes. 
The  Child  raises  the  right  hand  in  benediction,  the  two 
first  fingers  extended,  but  not  touching  the  thumb.  In 
a narrow  border  at  the  bottom  of  the  plaque  are  a 
centaur,  the  human  figure  of  which  is  of  aboriginal 
type,  and  carries  a bow  and  arrow,  a lion  attacking  a 
bear,  and  a wild  boar  attacked  by  some  nondescript 
creature.  The  whole  design  and  arrangement  are 
quaint,  or  even  grotesque,  but  there  can  be  no  denying 


iSf99,W  ; 


PLATE  XXII  PLAQUE.  XORTH  EUROPE 


ELEVENTH  CENTUUV 


BYZANTINE  IVORIES 


I 


the  general  decorative  character  and  the  evident  de- 
votional feeling.  The  figures  may  be  disproportionate, 
their  expressions  wild,  and  the  anatomy  of  an  emaciated 
type,  still  there  is  evidence  of  the  hand  of  an  artist  who 
knew  what  he  was  doing,  and  who  delighted  in  the 
general  effect,  the  richness  of  the  draperies,  and  the 
elegant  arrangement  of  their  folds  with  which  he  pre- 
sented us.  This  fine  plaque  was  sold  at  the  Soltikoff  sale 
to  Mr.  Webb  for  ;!fi53,  and  passed  with  his  collection 
in  1865  to  South  Kensington  for  ^£218.  With  regard 
to  origin  it  is  impossible  to  be  certain.  The  treatment 
of  the  animals  may  be  compared  with  those  on  the 
Carlovingian,  or  Rhenish,  book  cover,  ascribed  toTutilo, 
to  which  reference  has  already  been  made.  The  plaque 
is  certainly  northern  work.  Why  not,  indeed,  Irish  ? 

Perhaps  the  most  superb  object  which  the  South 
Kensington  Museum  was  fortunate  enough  to  acquire 
on  the  dispersal  of  the  Soltikoff  collection  in  the  year 
1861  was  a Rhenish  Byzantine  reliquary  in  silver  gilt 
and  cloison7i4  enamel  work  of  the  twelfth  century.  This 
splendid  shrine  is,  it  must  be  said,  but  indirectly  con- 
nected with  our  subject.  It  is  so  by  reason  only  of  the 
ivory  figures  and  plaques  which  form  part  of  the  decora- 
tion. Of  the  reliquary  itself,  it  will  be  sufficient  to  say 
that  it  is  of  copper  gilt — a small  church  of  the  shape  of 
a Greek  cross  with  a bulbous  dome  divided  into  lobes, 
the  transept  brought  forward  from  each  of  the  four 
sides.  It  is  richly  enamelled.  On  the  fronts  of  the 
transepts  plaques  of  walrus  ivory  are  let  in,  and  the 
sides,  and  the  drum  on  which  the  dome  rests,  contain 
twenty-eight  arches,  under  which  are  figures  of  apostles, 
prophets,  and  saints.  The  sculptures  on  the  plaques 
represent  the  visit  of  the  Magi,  the  Virgin  and  the 
Holy  Child,  the  Crucifixion,  and  the  Resurrection.  The 
figures  are  some  of  elephant,  others  of  walrus  ivory,  and 
all  bear  scrolls  with  legends  and  texts,  some  of  which 
are,  however,  difficult  to  decipher  with  certainty,  owing 


IVORIES 

to  the  contractions.  The  sixteen  figures  of  prophets 
and  saints  around  the  main  body  of  the  shrine  are  all 
standing,  those  of  the  twelve  apostles  which  filled  the 
niches  under  the  dome  are  seated.  Five  or  six  of  the 
figures  are  later  restorations.  It  is  supposed,  according 
to  Dr.  Bock,  to  be  the  work  of  the  monks  of  the  monas- 
tery of  St.  Pantaleon — this  at  least  so  far  as  the  metal 
and  enamel  are  concerned,  the  ivory  figures  may  have 
come  from  another  source. 

The  history  is  curious,  as  may  be  gathered  from  an 
account  furnished  to  the  museum  by  Dr.  Bock.  There 
is  evidence  that  until  the  French  Revolution  it  was  pre- 
served at  a monastery  near  Emmerich  on  the  Rhine. 
At  that  time  it  was  taken  away  and  hidden  for  some  time 
in  a chimney  in  a house  in  the  possession  of  the  monas- 
tery in  lower  Elten.  Later  on  it  came  into  the  possession 
of  a priest  at  Dornich,  was  sold  by  him  to  a Jew  for  the 
sum  of  about  four  pounds,  and  from  him  purchased  by 
Prince  Salm-Salm  for  thirty  pounds.  It  next  passed 
into  the  hands  of  a collector  at  the  price  of  ;^i50,  from 
whom  it  was  acquired  by  Prince  Soltikoff  at  a cost  of 
£200.  Finally,  at  the  dispersal  of  the  Soltikoff  collec- 
tion in  1861,  the  museum  at  Kensington  paid  for  it 
what  was  then  considered  the  very  large  sum  of  ;^2,i42. 
If  such  a treasure  could  now  again  come  into  the  market, 
it  is  impossible  to  imagine  what  it  might  fetch.  It 
would  not  be  unreasonable  to  estimate  the  value  at 
double  the  amount  given  by  the  museum. 

The  last  of  the  examples  of  Byzantine  religious  art 
to  which  we  shall  now  refer  are  the  two  covers  of  the 
Psalter  of  the  Princess  Melisenda,  daughter  of  Baldwin, 
King  of  Jerusalem,  in  the  British  Museum.  The  work 
is  of  the  twelfth  century.  The  dimensions  of  each  leaf 
are  nine  by  six  inches.  The  subjects  contained  in  six 
circular  compartments  on  each  cover  are  on  the  one  side 
biblical,  on  the  other,  representations  of  six  of  the  acts 
of  mercy.  The  relief  is  shallow,  and  the  drawing  very 
118 


PLATE  XXIIl  COVER  OF  PSAFTKR  OF  THE  PRINCESS  MELl.-ENDA 


I WEI.Fl'H  CEML’KV 


BYZANTINE  IVORIES 

rude.  It  is,  however,  the  decoration  of  the  plaques 
which  is  so  remarkable  and  rich.  The  sets  of  compart- 
ments are  bordered  by  a jewelled  ribbon  elegantly  inter- 
twined, the  intervening  spaces  filled  in  with  birds  and 
animals  personifying  the  Christian  virtues.  The  border 
is  an  elegant  arabesque  of  foliage  and  grapes  in  the 
best  style  of  this  characteristic  Byzantine  work.  What 
we  have  to  notice  are  the  charming  simplicity  of  the 
apparently  interminable  interlacements,  clean  cut  and 
decided,  and  the  curious  combinations  of  birds  and 
animals  dear  to  oriental  artists  with  which  every  avail- 
able inch  of  space  is  filled.  The  book  cover  is  now 
exhibited  in  the  manuscript  department  of  the  British 
Museum.  It  has  been  set,  within  recent  years,  with 
turquoises,  and  the  eyes  of  the  figures  filled  with  rubies. 
The  authority  for  so  doing  is  perhaps  open  to  question, 
but  it  may  be  mentioned  that  ivories  of  this  date — for 
example,  the  Carlovingian  book  covers  in  the  museum 
at  Kensington  (Nos.  250,  251 ’67) — have  been  studded 
with  gold  pinheads.  For  the  most  part,  only  the 
perforations  for  them  remain. 

A similar  style  of  ornament,  but  more  complicated, 
and  of  a finer  character  even  than  these  precious  book 
covers,  is  shown  in  the  portions  of  an  arm  of  a chair 
formerly  in  the  Meyrick  collection  and  now  in  the 
museum  at  South  Kensington.  They  are  curved  pieces 
made  of  two  walrus  tusks,  measuring  about  two  feet  in 
length.  But  we  have  here  apparently  a combination  of 
styles,  with  not  a little  suggestion  of  northern  work. 
The  relief  is  extraordinarily  deep,  so  much  so  that  it  is 
almost  detached  in  part — an  arrangement  of  scrolls  and 
foliage  intertwined  with  human  figures  and  fabulous 
animals ; an  eagle  and  a lion  in  medallions.  The 
country  of  origin,  and  even  the  practical  use  of  these 
magnificent  fragments,  are  not  easily  to  be  determined. 
We  may  say  that  they  are  of  about  the  twelfth  century 
and  in  the  finest  style  of  Byzantine  art. 


IVORIES 

Amongst  carvings  in  ivory,  to  which  a special  in- 
terest is  attached  on  account  of  external  circumstances, 
some  allusion  must  be  made  to  the  plaque  or  fragment 
said  to  be  a portion  of  a casket  which  formerly  con- 
tained the  “Holy  Coat”  at  Treves.  It  is  preserved 
in  the  treasury  of  the  cathedral,  and  the  subject  carved 
upon  it  is  supposed  to  represent  the  bringing  of  the  relic 
to  the  city  by  St.  Helena,  and  to  be  of  seventh-century 
workmanship.  The  casket  was  lost  at  the  Revolution, 
and  this  piece  seems  to  have  reappeared  at  Antwerp 
about  1830.  It  is  sometimes  quoted  as  evidence  in 
support  of  the  genuineness  of  the  “ Holy  Coat”  itself. 

A curious  piece  of  Byzantine  work  of  the  ninth 
century  is  in  the  Basilewski  collection.  It  is  an 
eland’s  antler  with  its  branching  points,  carved  with 
various  religious  subjects.  The  practical  use,  if  it  had 
any,  is  unknown. 

The  religious  art  of  Russia  falls  naturally  under 
consideration  with  that  of  the  great  empire  of  the  east. 
But  unfortunately  the  number  of  examples  of  ivory 
carving  which  we  have  in  the  museums  and  collections 
of  Europe  is  extremely  small,  nor  would  it  appear  that 
in  Russia  itself  are  many  more  to  be  found.  We  must 
include  also  in  this  scarcity  all  work  of  this  material 
belonging  to  the  Greek  church  since  its  formation. 
What  there  is  consists  almost  entirely  of  a few  speci- 
mens of  the  peculiar  liturgical  accessory  known  as  a 
panagia,  some  heads  of  pastoral  staffs,  and  a small 
number  of  plaques. 

The  question  of  Russian  art  generally,  and  how  far 
it  may  be  considered  a national  and  original  style,  is 
not  one  that  we  need  go  into  here.  In  appreciating  its 
manifestation,  as  exemplified  in  relation  to  works  of 
a religious  character,  illustrated  by  the  few  examples 
we  may  be  able  to  bring  forward,  we  must  bear  in  mind 
that  from  her  connection  with  Constantinople  at  the 
time  when  she  accepted  Christianity  from  the  Church 


120 


BYZANTINE  IVORIES 

which  had  already  been  established  there  seven  cen- 
turies previously,  Russia  could  hardly  have  avoided 
borrowing  largely,  or,  rather,  frankly  adopting  the  hier- 
atism  which  she  found  ready  to  hand.  Further  than 
this,  the  change  from  paganism  to  Christianity  was 
accomplished,  as  it  were,  at  a blow.  It  was  not  a process 
of  gradual  growth,  but  immediate  and  striking.  The 
eastern  church  was  then  at  the  zenith  of  its  splendour. 
The  envoys  sent  by  Vladimir  to  Constantinople  to 
report  upon  the  religion  which  he  had  decided  to  adopt 
were  no  doubt  dazzled  by  the  magnificence  of  the  cere- 
monial, and  by  the  grandeur  of  the  adornments  of  the 
churches.  It  was  necessary  for  them  to  provide  at  once 
similar  things  for  the  introduction  into  their  own  country 
of  corresponding  rites.  It  was  naturally  to  Byzantium 
that  they  would  turn  for  their  form  and  ornament.  In 
the  earliest  times,  no  doubt,  a profusion  of  objects  for 
the  services  of  religion  would  have  been  imported  direct; 
but,  as  time  went  on,  Russian  artists  would  begin  work- 
ing for  themselves,  and  while  cheerfully  following,  almost 
with  a servile  imitation,  Byzantine  likings,  which  accorded 
so  well  with  their  own  tastes  and  proclivities,  they  would 
also  have  freely  added  those  touches  of  their  own  Scla- 
vonic genius  which  give  to  Russian  art  a distinctive 
character  of  its  own. 

It  may  be  remembered  also  that  the  art  of  Russia 
has  always  been  strongly  influenced  by  the  oriental 
taste  which  arose  from  its  geographical  position,  and 
that  India  and  Persia  have  contributed  largely  to  its 
development,  and  to  the  formation  of  its  style  and 
character.  Byzantium  herself  had  been  to  the  same 
sources,  but  Russia,  if  inspired  by  her,  searched  also 
on  her  own  account,  with  the  result  that  we  find  in  the 
ornament,  in  which  her  art  delights,  much  evidence  of 
adaptation  taken  direct,  and  not  filtered  through  other 
sources.  Once  settled  upon,  the  conservatism  of  the 
Russian  type,  in  religious  art,  is  remarkable.  It 

I2I 


IVORIES 

followed,  in  principle,  the  Byzantine  school  of  Mount 
Athos,  but  while  accepting  the  principles,  it  did  not 
confine  itself  absolutely  to  the  Greek  school.  There 
are  many  types  and  subjects  which  are  proper  to 
Russian  religious  art,  but  which  are  quite  unknown  to 
the  Greeks.  Such  are  certain  images,  and  the  stereo- 
typed methods  of  representing  them  ; for  instance,  those 
of  St.  Nicholas  the  warrior,  SS.  Cyrillus  and  Metho- 
dius, St.  Sergius,  very  many  types  of  the  Virgin,  and 
others.  Thus  it  is  that  although,  of  course,  there  is 
ever  present  in  Russian  religious  art  the  family  likeness 
in  the  forms  and  spirit,  to  which  Russia  has  adhered 
so  tenaciously  from  their  introduction  till  the  present 
day,  though  the  same  models  have  been  copied  with 
precision  year  after  year,  century  after  century,  yet  for 
all  this  there  are  sufficient  differences  which  afford 
means  by  which  we  are  seldom  inclined  to  hesitate,  but 
are  able  to  say,  in  a moment,  that  is  Russian.  In  this 
we  are,  of  course,  often  helped  by  the  Sclavonic  inscrip- 
tions, the  interlaced  character  of  which  is  highly  decora- 
tive and  peculiar. 

A characteristic  of  Russian  iconography  is  the  ex- 
aggerated austere  aspect  of  the  principal  persons.  The 
faces  are  lean,  wild,  and  even  savage ; their  limbs 
emaciated,  their  garments  few ; the  same  small,  thin- 
cut  eyes,  long  lank  hair,  and  long  and  scanty  beard  ; the 
same  sinewy  limbs,  the  abnormally  rounded  skull,  the 
recurring,  upraised,  bony  hand,  with  fingers  symbolically 
divided.  The  peculiarity  of  this  last  symbolical  division, 
as  the  outward  testimony  of  a great  dogmatic  distinction, 
is  of  the  highest  importance.  Certain  Greek  saints  are 
invariably  distinguished  by  a small  fold  of  particular 
form,  or  an  opening  in  the  robe  above  and  below  the 
knee.  Although,  therefore,  Byzantine  principles  were 
freely  adopted,  and  in  the  main  strictly  adhered  to,  we 
have  many  things  to  guide  us  in  discriminating.  In 
course  of  time  modifications  were  introduced,  but  the 


122 


BYZANTINE  IVORIES 

immobility  of  type  has  been  so  much  preserved  that  it 
is  sometimes  extremely  difficult  to  assign  a date. 

If  we  are  unable  to  produce  many  examples  of  carv- 
ings in  ivory,  there  are  a few  remarkable  pieces  as  good 
of  their  kind  as  if  we  had  picked  them  out  of  a large 
number  of  others,  and  they  make  the  scarcity  the  more 
surprising,  as  they  would  appear  to  show  a cultivation 
of  the  art  of  working  in  this  material  which  would  lead 
to  great  excellence.  But  even  at  the  present  day,  the 
producers  of  the  immense  number  of  religious  objects 
made  in  the  monasteries — in  the  same  way  as,  no  doubt, 
such  things  were  produced  in  the  west  in  the  middle 
ages — seem  to  prefer  working  in  soft  woods,  often  on  a 
most  minute  scale.  Carved  pictures  of  this  kind,  fre- 
quently cut  with  an  ordinary  knife,  abound,  and  though 
all  made  by  hand,  they  scarcely  vary  in  a single  detail. 
For  centuries  the  same  rigid  archaism  has  been  pre- 
served, the  artist  following  in  the  most  accurate  manner 
the  traditions  that  have  been  handed  down  to  him. 

The  two  pieces  of  a panagia  in  the  Christian 
museum  of  the  Vatican,  probably  of  the  seventeenth 
century,  are  typical  examples.  A panagia  is  a peculiar 
ornament  or  sacred  vessel,  in  its  usual  form  a kind  of 
large  circular  locket,  or  saucer-shaped  receptacle,  made 
of  two  concave  pieces,  opening  upon  a hinge.  It  is 
used  for  conveying  the  consecrated  bread  to  the  sick, 
and  for  this  purpose  is  suspended  from  the  neck  of  the 
priest.  One  half  of  the  example  in  the  Vatican  is 
completely  filled  with  scenes  from  the  New  Testament 
most  minutely  carved,  and  yet  with  great  skill  of  execu- 
tion, so  that  even  the  expression  on  the  faces  is  dis- 
tinctly visible.  They  are  contained  in  one  large  circle — 
in  the  centre  of  which  are  represented  the  three  angels 
sitting  at  meat  with  Abraham,  the  usual  manner  of 
symbolising  the  Trinity — and  in  ten  smaller  circles 
surrounding  it.  Round  the  rim  runs  a Sclavonic  in- 
scription, but  not  treated  in  the  usual  decorative  manner. 

123 


IVORIES 

A plaque  or  tablet  in  the  Soane  Museum,  Lincoln’s 
Inn,  is  an  extraordinary  example  of  microscopic  work. 
The  subject  is  the  glorification  of  the  Virgin  ; she  is 
seated  on  a throne,  with  the  Holy  Child  on  her  lap. 
Around  her  are  angels,  and  beneath  a vast  concourse 
of  saints.  In  the  background  is  a Russian  church 
with  five  cupolas,  flanked  by  very  conventional  trees. 
The  little  figures,  scarcely  more  than  an  inch  high,  are 
sculptured  with  the  greatest  care,  so  that  even  the 
patterns  and  distinctions  in  the  draperies  are  easily  to 
be  made  out.  The  piece  is,  perhaps,  of  the  sixteenth 
century.  It  is  not  easy  to  assign  a date  to  such  objects, 
or  to  distinguish,  always,  Russian  from  the  work  of 
other  portions  of  the  Greek  Church.  There  are,  how- 
ever, certain  indications  that  will  help  us  ; for  instance, 
the  symbolism  of  the  Trinity,  the  forms  and  number 
of  the  cupolas,  the  attributes  and  nationality  of  saints, 
and  Sclavonic  instead  of  Greek  inscriptions.  There  is 
one  small  plaque  of  interest  at  South  Kensington,  but 
in  the  British  Museum  nothing. 

It  will  be  convenient  to  refer  here  to  the  two  thrones 
in  the  Kremlin  at  Moscow,  although  an  entirely  Russian 
origin  cannot  be  claimed  for  either  of  them.  The  first 
is  the  ivory  throne  of  Ivan  III.,  and  is  said  to  have  been 
brought  from  Constantinople  in  1472  by  the  empress 
Sophia  Paleologus,  who,  by  her  marriage  with  Ivan  III., 
united  the  coats  - of  - arms  of  Byzantium  and  Russia. 
There  is  a certain  resemblance  between  this  throne  and 
that  known  as  the  chair  of  St.  Peter  at  Rome.  The 
general  form  is  the  same,  and  so  is  the  manner  in  which 
the  ivory  plaques  and  their  borderings  are  placed.  In 
a kind  of  way,  also,  many  of  the  plaques  recall  those 
on  the  chair  of  St.  Peter,  and  similar  works  of  the  class, 
such  as  the  Veroli  casket  at  Kensington.  But  here  the 
identity  ends.  The  figures  are  very  poor,  as  if  copied 
by  an  inexperienced  artist  from  good  models.  Some  of 
the  plaques  are  additions  of  the  sixteenth  or  seventeenth 
124 


PLATE  XXIV 


I.  TABLET.  RUSSIAN 

SIXTEENTH  CENTURY 


c.  PANAGIA.  RUSSIAN 

SIXTEENTH  CENTURY 


PLATE  XXV  1.  CHAIR  OF  S.  PETICR.  A I RO.ME  THRONE  OF  IVAN  III 


BYZANTINE  IVORIES 

century,  of  quite  a different  character,  and  very  bad 
work.  On  the  whole,  however,  we  may  gather  a good 
idea  of  the  very  fine  effect  which  a throne  of  this  de- 
scription could  be  made  to  give.  The  second  throne  is 
a magnificent  piece  of  work  completely  covered  with 
gold  ornament  set  with  stones,  of  charming  workman- 
ship, having  on  the  front,  on  the  sides  and  back,  and 
below  the  seat,  plaques  of  ivory,  the  work  evidently  of 
Hindoo  artists  (the  plaque  on  the  front  representing, 
amongst  interlaced  work,  an  elephant  hunt).  It  was 
probably  made  in  Persia  for  the  Tsar  Alexis  about  the 
year  1660. 

The  ivory  chair  of  St.  Peter,  to  which  reference  has 
been  made  in  connection  with  the  above,  is  preserved  in 
a magnificent  shrine  in  the  Basilica.  It  is  of  a massive 
square  shape,  with  a triangular  pediment  on  the  back, 
the  whole  surface  covered  with  ivory  plaques  bordered 
with  arabesque  carvings  of  scroll  patterns  with  foliage 
and  animals.  The  plaques  which  correspond  with  Byzan- 
tine caskets  of  the  eleventh  century  are  carved  with  the 
labours  of  Hercules,  and  with  representations  of  six  of 
the  constellations  — Pisces,  Hydra,  Scorpio,  Lepus, 
Eridanus,  and  Cetus.  Plaques  of  a similar  character, 
of  the  tenth  or  eleventh  century,  are  in  the  museum  of 
Arezzo,  and  at  other  places.  The  probability  is  that  the 
chair  was  put  together  from  a collection  of  such  plaques, 
and  tablets  from  caskets,  and  the  fine  foliated  borders 
of  the  period  added. 

Important  as  are  the  ivories  of  the  Byzantine  epochs 
in  the  history  of  art  down  to  at  least  the  twelfth  century, 
it  would  require  more  than  a cursory  glance,  a rapid 
survey,  to  exhaust  the  lessons  which  may  be  derived 
from  them.  Regretfully  we  pass  by  instance  after  in- 
stance in  other  divisions  of  art  when  the  connection, 
even  though  remote,  tempts  us  to  refer  to  them.  But 
the  history  of  Byzantine  art  in  general  is  a vast  subject, 
and  of  far-reaching  extent,  to  which  the  ablest  hands 

125 


IVORIES 

have  devoted  themselves.  In  the  references  which  have 
been  made  it  has  been  necessary,  on  the  one  hand,  to 
avoid  too  frequent  and  detailed  descriptions,  which 
are,  perhaps,  more  proper  in  a catalogue  raisonnd ; on 
the  other  hand,  we  cannot  leave  entirely  on  one  side 
the  analogies  and  connections  with  such  important 
things  as  the  monuments  of  the  goldsmith’s  art,  the 
architecture,  enamels,  paintings,  miniatures,  frescoes, 
and  other  things  which  are  often  so  striking  as  to  com- 
pel attention  to  be  drawn  to  them.  In  the  selection  of 
examples  more  can  hardly  be  done,  within  reasonable 
limits,  than  to  choose  the  most  beautiful ; but  besides 
these  there  are  others  which  are  typical  and  possess 
their  peculiar  interest  and  attraction,  even  if  at  times 
the  art  may  be  of  the  rudest,  the  forms  archaic,  and  the 
feeling  almost  grotesque  in  its  quaintness  and  con- 
ventionality. 

Those  who  are  already  familiar  with  the  ivory 
carving  of  pre-gothic  times  will  remark  that  our  refer- 
ences to  Byzantine  art  in  the  development  known  as 
the  Rhenish,  Carlovingian,  or  Romanesque  type,  have 
been  few,  and  our  treatment  rather  summary.  But  this 
is  not  because  it  is  unimportant.  On  the  contrary,  it 
has  special  characteristics  and  a special  relation  to  the 
spread  of  the  system  in  the  west  which  call  for  notice 
at  greater  length  than  can  here  be  devoted  to  it.  The 
influence  of  Byzantium  permeated  throughout  the 
whole  of  Europe,  and  its  art  dominated  the  Christian 
world.  There  resulted  a general  similarity,  so  much 
so  that  almost  any  given  example  might  have  been 
imagined  and  produced  as  well  in  one  country  as  in 
another.  The  Carlovingian  and  Rhenish  developments 
present,  however,  certain  marked  characteristics.  We 
find  in  them,  for  instance,  a fondness  for  the  fine  bold 
treatment  of  scroll  and  foliage  work  interspersed  with 
animals  and  birds  of  a spirited  type,  often  within  a 
square  border.  We  have  the  double  aureola  which 
126 


BYZANTINE  IVORIES 

surrounds  our  Saviour,  the  lower  part  a circle  forming  a 
seat  on  which  He  sits,  with  various  twisted  and  pearled 
decoration.  He  himself  has  a cruciferous  nimbus,  and 
is  sometimes  youthful,  sometimes  older  with  a short 
beard.  The  representations  of  the  crucifixion  are  re- 
markable for  the  elaboration  of  the  details,  and  for  the 
surrounding  figures.  The  instruments  of  the  passion 
— the  sponge,  the  lance,  the  nails — appear  frequently, 
and  the  scene  is  accompanied  by  emblems  of  conven- 
tional or  allegorical  type,  such  as  those  of  earth  and 
water,  the  Jordan  or  the  ocean,  indicated  by  imaginative 
aquatic  creatures  and  in  several  other  ways  ; we  have 
the  sun  and  moon,  the  church  and  the  synagogue. 
There  is  a peculiar  method,  which  is  frequent,  of  repre- 
senting the  baptism  of  Christ,  in  which  our  Lord 
stands  up  to  the  middle  in  water  represented  by  wavy 
lines ; inscriptions  in  Roman  characters  on  various 
parts  of  the  composition  often  occur ; in  some  Rhenish 
ivories  the  backgrounds  are  in  open-cut  squares,  the 
physiognomies  grave  and  somewhat  exaggerated  in 
size,  the  hair  in  little  clusters  of  knobs ; there  is  a 
characteristic  treatment  of  the  wings  of  angels,  and 
there  is  the  very  conventional  method  of  representing 
such  scenes  as  the  Nativity,  to  which  our  attention  has 
already  been  called.  Then,  again,  we  have  the  curious 
decoration  of  the  draperies  by  means  of  punctures  or 
pearlings  in  the  lines  of  the  folds,  and  there  are  details 
of  great  interest  with  regard  to  ritual,  ceremonies,  and 
vestments.  Finally  we  have  the  Celtic  ornament  con- 
sisting of  intricate  interlacements  in  calligraphic  style 
or  mingled  with  monstrous  animals  having  their  tails 
prolonged  and  spirally  twisted,  which  passed  from 
Ireland  to  St.  Gall,  and  is  very  apparent  throughout 
France  and  Germany  from  the  ninth  to  the  twelfth 
century.  A good  example  of  this  is  the  small  Carlo- 
vingian  tenth-century  reliquary  or  casket.  No.  253’67, 
in  the  Kensington  Museum. 


127 


CHAPTER  VII 


ECCLESIASTICAL  DIPTYCHS:  PALIMPSESTS 

WE  owe  the  preservation  of  many  plaques  and 
diptychs,  both  consular  and  classical  of  all 
kinds,  as  well,  perhaps,  of  other  tablets  of 
ivory,  whether  secular  or  religious,  to  a remarkable  use 
to  which  they  were  put  in  the  services  of  the  Church. 
This  use,  which  began  in  very  early  times,  continued 
for  several  centuries.  Even  after  the  liturgical  custom, 
which  will  presently  be  more  fully  alluded  to,  had  fallen 
into  disuse,  these  decorated  pieces  of  ivory  continued 
to  be  kept  in  the  treasuries  of  the  great  cathedrals. 
Many  of  them  are  still  so  preserved,  others  have  from 
various  circumstances,  unlikely  perhaps  to  occur  again, 
found  their  way  into  the  museums  and  private  collec- 
tions of  the  world. 

It  has  been  shown  that  in  their  origin  it  was  the 
fashion  to  present  the  consular  diptychs,  and  the  other 
diptychs  in  the  form  of  writing  tablets,  to  eminent 
persons  in  the  state,  to  senators,  governors  of  provinces, 
and  to  distinguished  people.  In  course  of  time,  and 
after  the  introduction  of  Christianity,  bishops  and  the 
churches  themselves  naturally  participated  in  these  gifts, 
and  it  was  not  long  before  they  were  adapted  to  a litur- 
gical requirement,  for  which,  from  their  beauty  and  the 
appropriateness  of  their  original  use  as  records,  they 
seemed  to  be  eminently  fitted.  Transferred  to  pious 
uses,  there  does  not  appear  to  have  been  much  hesita- 
128 


ECCLESIASTICAL  DIPTYCHS 

tion,  as  a rule,  to  using  them  in  their  pristine  condition, 
however  incongruous  the  pagan  subjects  or  figures 
might  appear.  On  the  contrary,  they  were  looked  upon 
as  legitimate  spoil,  as  trophies  illustrating  the  triumph 
of  Christianity  over  paganism. 

Amongst  the  crowd  of  converts  in  the  early  days  of 
the  Church,  there  would  have  been  distinguished  people 
who  would  have  hastened  to  contribute  these  splendid 
objects  to  be  applied  to  the  service  of  God.  A very 
common  application  would  be  for  binding  and  adorning 
the  gospels  and  other  sacred  books,  or  they  would  have 
been  used  for  covering  the  sides  of  caskets  and  recep- 
tacles for  relics.  Then,  again,  the  classical  pyxes  which 
have  come  down  to  us  were  convenient  for  keeping  the 
unconsecrated  wafers,  and  cylindrical  boxes  of  this  char- 
acter are  so  used  to  the  present  day.  Situlce  would 
naturally  become  holy-water  buckets,  and  so  on.  But 
for  this  practice,  and  from  such  things  thus  acquiring 
a sacred  character  and  not  lightly  to  be  parted  with,  it 
is  likely  that  many  more  objects  of  comparatively  small 
intrinsic  value  would  have  been  lost  or  destroyed  than 
has  been  the  case : nor,  indeed,  should  we  perhaps  still 
possess  such  a treasure  as  the  magnificent  antique  sar- 
donyx cameo  in  Vienna,  the  “ Gemma  Augustea.”  But 
the  most  important  purpose  to  which  these  diptychs 
were  applied  was  a liturgical  one,  that  of  furnishing  a 
kind  of  memorandum  of  the  living  and  of  the  dead,  to 
be  used  at  the  most  solemn  portion  of  the  canon  of  the 
mass,  the  ivory  tablets  themselves  being  placed  upon 
the  altar  in  somewhat  the  same  way  as  what  are  known 
as  altar  cards,  containing  some  parts  of  the  service 
which  it  is  not  convenient  to  read  direct  from  the 
missal,  are  now  used.  The  diptychs  kept  even  their 
ancient  name.  They  were  called  holy  diptychs,  mystical 
diptychs,  diptychs  of  the  living  and  of  the  dead,  and  are 
commonly  known  by  these  terms  in  a liturgical  sense. 
We  thus  see  illustrated  once  more  how  the  study  of 

K 129 


IVORIES 

ivory  carvings  leads  us  to  consider  almost  every  practice 
of  daily  social  and  religious  life. 

The  use  of  the  diptych  in  the  service  of  the  Church 
can  be  traced  to  the  very  earliest  ages  after  the  establish- 
ment of  Christianity.  When  the  consular  and  classical 
ones  were  transformed,  the  inscriptions  within  of  the 
titles  and  prowess  of  the  consuls,  of  the  family  records 
and  marriage  contracts,  gave  way  to  those  of  the  com- 
memoration of  saints  and  martyrs,  benefactors  of  the 
Church,  or  of  the  dead  who  were  to  be  remembered  at 
the  sacrifice  of  the  mass.  Sometimes  these  new  records 
were  not  inscribed  as  before  on  the  wax,  but  written  in 
ink,  or  even  cut  in  and  engraved  on  the  ivory  itself.  It 
is  certain  that  from  the  earliest  times  they  contained 
lists  of  the  dignitaries  and  benefactors  of  the  Church, 
for  whom  the  priest  was  never  to  omit  to  offer  up  prayers 
each  time  the  holy  sacrifice  was  offered. 

From  ancient  liturgies  we  find  that  the  deacon  re- 
hearsed aloud  this  catalogue.  We  learn  from  St. 
Dionysius,  in  his  treatise  on  the  ecclesiastical  hierarchy 
— and  whatever  may  be  the  disputed  date  of  his  writings, 
the  general  consensus  of  opinion  hardly  puts  them  later 
than  the  fourth  century — that  immediately  after  the  kiss 
of  peace  is  given,  then  is  made  the  mystic  recitation  of 
the  sacred  tablets,  and  we  know  that  in  St.  Chrysostom’s 
time  the  custom  was  fully  established.  It  would  appear 
that  at  first  the  names  were  read  out  by  the  deacon  from 
the  ambo,  or  raised  platform,  in  early  Christian  churches 
from  which  announcements  were  made;  later  the  deacon 
or  subdeacon  reminded  the  priest  of  them  at  the  altar 
in  a low  voice ; and  later  still  the  diptychs  themselves 
were  placed  on  the  altar.  In  the  liturgy  of  St.  Mark 
(without  supposing  that  this  is  rightly  named,  we  may 
be  sure  that,  with  other  early  liturgies,  it  contains  con- 
siderably more  ancient  elements)  the  deacon  reads  the 
diptychs  of  the  dead,  and  the  priest  then,  bowing  down, 
prays  for  the  souls  of  these  departed  ones.  Again,  in 
130 


ECCLESIASTICAL  DIPTYCHS 

the  liturgy  of  St.  Chrysostom,  in  the  fourth  century, 
the  deacon  incenses  the  altar  and  the  diptychs,  and 
mentions  those  for  whom  it  is  intended  to  pray,  both 
living  and  dead.  So  also  in  the  Coptic  liturgy  and  in 
the  Alexandrian,  called  the  liturgy  of  St.  Basil,  we  find 
the  use  of  the  diptychs  and,  as  in  the  others,  the  manner 
of  using  them  and  the  prayers  attached  to  them.  The 
names  of  the  martyrs  whose  relics  were  deposited  in  a 
church  were  inscribed  on  their  own  particular  diptychs, 
and  those  who  had  acquired  a reputation  for  .sanctity 
were  also  honoured  in  the  same  way.  It  was  equivalent 
to  canonisation,  and  from  this  practice  it  is  supposed, 
though  the  fact  is  disputed  by  some,  we  have  the  very 
term  itself,  for  the  names  were  read  out  at  that  most 
solemn  part  of  the  mass  called  the  canon.  In  later 
times  the  names  of  the  reigning  emperor  and  empress, 
the  pope,  the  bishop  of  the  Church,  and  others  were 
inscribed,  and  we  have  an  example  in  the  diptych  of 
the  consul  Anastasius  at  Li^ge,  whereon  a list  of  eight 
of  the  bishops  of  Tongres,  from  840  to  956,  is  written 
in  ink.  A similar  instance  occurs  in  the  diptych  of 
Bourges,  in  the  Paris  Library,  and  another  in  the 
cathedral  at  Novara,  on  the  diptych  of  an  unknown 
consul,  on  the  inside  of  which  is  inscribed  a list  of  the 
bishops  of  Novara,  brought  down  to  so  late  a date  as 
1170  A.D.  Finally,  other  diptychs  were  inscribed  with 
a register  of  the  recently  baptised  at  a time  when  that 
rite  was  more  significant  than  now,  and  we  may  thus 
distinguish  four  classes,  viz.  the  names  of  the  newly 
baptised,  those  of  sovereigns,  bishops,  and  benefactors, 
those  who  died  in  the  faith,  and  the  authorised  roll  of 
saints  and  martyrs.  If,  as  has  been  stated,  the  inscription 
of  the  names  of  holy  personages  was  equivalent  to  canon- 
isation, on  the  other  hand,  as  regards  the  living,  to  be 
erased  was  a measure  which  meant  a virtual  denunciation 
as  heretics  to  be  no  longer  considered  as  belonging  to 
the  Church,  in  short,  a sentence  of  excommunication. 


IVORIES 

Probably  also  the  names  of  the  sick  and  of  those  in 
trouble  and  to  be  prayed  for  were  inscribed  on  the 
diptychs,  and  we  are  thus  connected  in  an  interesting 
manner  with  the  announcements  made  at  the  present 
time  usually  before  the  sermon. 

Yet  another  important  value  is  attached  to  them. 
Besides  the  secular  ivories  adapted  to  the  service  of  the 
Church,  many  others  would  have  been  made,  and 
decorated  with  representations  of  religious  subjects. 
In  this  way  they  would  have  aroused  devotion  and 
imparted  instruction  to  the  faithful.  In  the  old  Ambro- 
sian rite  of  Milan  the  following  instructions  are  given 
for  their  use:  “The  lesson  ended,  a scholar,  vested  in 
a surplice,  takes  the  ivory  tablets  from  the  altar  or  the 
ambo,  and  ascends  the  pulpit.”  And  again:  “When 
the  deacon  chants  the  Alleluia,  the  key-bearer  for  the 
week  hands  the  ivory  tablets  to  him  at  the  exit  of  the 
choir.” 

Not  many  of  the  later  inscriptions  on  diptychs  are 
now  legible,  being  written  in  ink.  The  most  interesting 
one  we  have  is  that  of  the  Consul  Clementinus  (513  a.d.) 
in  the  Liverpool  Museum.  It  is  long,  and  in  Greek, 
deeply  cut  within  each  leaf,  and  is  usually  taken  to 
be  of  the  eighth  century.  The  purport  of  the  inscrip- 
tion requires  the  people  to  be  devout,  and  recites  the 
names  of  those  to  be  prayed  for,  amongst  them  those 
of  the  donors,  “ John,  the  least  priest  of  the  dwelling  of 
the  holy  Agatha,”  and  “Andreas  Machera,  servant  of  the 
Lord.”  Amongst  other  examples  of  secular  plaques 
adapted  to  the  service  of  the  church  are  those  adorning 
the  silver  pulpit  of  the  cathedral  of  Aix-la-Chapelle. 
They  are  six  in  number,  Roman,  of  the  fourth  or  fifth 
century.  The  subjects  are  entirely  mythological:  hunt- 
ing scenes  in  which  an  emperor  figures,  bacchanalian 
groups,  nymphs  and  satyrs,  and  the  like. 

Another  interesting  detail  connected  with  diptychs 
and  ivories  of  the  kind  concerns  those  known  as  palimp- 
132 


ECCLESIASTICAL  DIPTYCHS 

sests,  that  is  to  say,  where  the  original  designs  on  an 
ivory  plaque  have  been,  at  a subsequent  period,  partly 
or  entirely  transformed  by  removing  them  by  means  of 
planing  or  cutting  away  and  substituting  others.  The 
term  is  a well-known  one,  applied  also  in  such  cases  as 
manuscripts,  monumental  brasses,  and  the  like.  A 
notice  of  a few  examples  of  a not  uncommon  practice 
will  suffice.  On  the  upper  part  of  one  leaf  of  a consular 
diptych  in  the  Kensington  Museum  the  raised  parts 
have  been  entirely  planed  down.  Enough,  however,  is 
left  to  distinguish  the  usual  figure  of  a consul.  The 
back  is  carved  with  a Russo-Byzantine  figure  of  the 
Saviour  of  the  thirteenth  century.  The  lower  part  of 
the  same  diptych  has  been  similarly  treated,  and  is 
carved  on  the  back  with  corresponding  scenes  of  the 
Passion.  It  is  now  in  the  British  Museum.  For  a 
consular  diptych  it  was  of  unusually  small  dimensions. 
Again,  on  a single  leaf  of  a bone  diptych  in  the  Liver- 
pool Museum  the  original  legend  has  been  cut  away, 
and  an  inscription  substituted  relating  to  a certain 
Bishop  Baldricus.  The  name  occurs  not  unfrequently 
amongst  bishops  of  the  tenth  to  twelfth  centuries.  The 
consular  diptych  has  already  been  alluded  to  as  ascribed 
to  Paulus  Probus.  There  might  have  been  more  cer- 
tainty had  the  original  inscription  been  allowed  to 
remain. 

An  important  example  of  a palimpsest,  because  of 
the  controversy  it  has  excited,  is  that  of  the  two  leaves 
of  a consular  diptych  now  forming  the  cover  of  a 
gradual  of  St.  Gregory  in  the  treasury  of  the  cathedral 
of  Monza.  On  each  leaf  the  consul  is  represented  in 
the  usual  manner,  on  the  one  seated,  on  the  other  stand- 
ing. But  over  the  two  capitals  of  one  leaf  is  inscribed 
“scs  GREC°R,”  on  those  of  the  other  “ david  rex.” 
There  are  other  alterations  and  differences,  and  the  head 
of  the  consul  on  one  leaf  has  been  tonsured.  The  question 
has  arisen  whether  these  tablets  are  consular  diptychs 

133 


IVORIES 

palimpsestically  treated,  or  whether  they  were  originally 
made  as  they  are  now,  and  intended  to  represent  an 
ecclesiastical  personage.  Now  it  is  true  that  the  orna- 
mentation is  not  in  the  style  of  any  known  consular 
ivory,  and  in  addition  the  floral  designs  are  very  poor 
indeed  ; but  though  the  costume  of  the  clergy  in  early 
times  was  undoubtedly  derived  from  the  ordinary  dress 
of  the  Roman  empire,  and  no  traces  of  distinct  vest- 
ments are  to  be  found  earlier  than — at  the  earliest — the 
sixth  century,  it  is  hardly  likely  that  we  are  to  see  in 
these  figures,  as  some  do,  the  diWciQni pmtula  transformed 
into  the  chasuble  by  a modification  of  the  shape.  The 
simplest  explanation  would  seem  to  be  that  the  artist  of 
the  seventh  century  happened  to  come  across  an  un- 
finished consular  diptych  on  which  the  figure  of  the 
consul  only,  or  perhaps,  also,  the  columns  and  arches, 
had  been  completed.  He  very  easily  effected  the  tonsure 
on  one  head  (it  may  be  remarked  that  the  tonsure  was 
first  made  obligatory  at  the  Council  of  Toledo,  633  a.d., 
and  v/as  practically  unknown  earlier),  added  a cross  to 
the  top  of  the  sceptre,  and  in  view  of  its  destined  pur- 
pose carved  the  inscriptions  before  noted.  The  rest  of 
the  extremely  bad  decoration  would  have  then  been 
added.  St.  Gregory  (544-604  a.d.)  was  a contemporary 
of  Queen  Theodolinda,  by  whom  the  treasure  at  Monza, 
of  which  these  plaques  form  part,  was  founded. 

It  is  somewhat  remarkable  that  through  the  long 
series  of  ivories  for  religious  purposes  which  have  been 
referred  to,  and  of  those  continuing  onwards  to  later 
times,  which  we  shall  presently  note  in  greater  detail, 
we  shall  find,  up  to  the  sixteenth  century,  very  few 
instances  indeed  of  the  representation  of  any  saints 
other  than  those  of  biblical  history.  The  subjects  are 
confined  almost  entirely  to  Old  Testament  scenes  and 
character,  and  to  the  life  of  our  Lord  and  His  mother, 
the  apostles  and  disciples,  and  other  personages  directly 
connected  with  the  Holy  Scriptures.  And  this  although 
134 


i 


ECCLESIASTICAL  DIPTYCHS 

there  is  no  such  restraint,  during  the  later  period  at 
least,  in  the  statuary  work  of  churches  and  shrines,  or 
in  illuminated  manuscripts.  In  the  canon  of  the  mass 
certain  saints — SS.  Cosmas  and  Damian,  St.  Clement, 
St.  Linas,  and  others — are  mentioned,  and  one  would 
almost  expect  to  find  diptychs  representing  them 
specially  prepared,  but  even  these  saints  are  hardly  to 
be  met  with.  Again,  there  is  a notable  absence  of  the 
representation  of  ecclesiastical  characters,  such  as  popes, 
bishops,  priests,  monks,  and  nuns.  Nor  do  we  find  them 
in  objects  for  secular  purposes,  such  as  caskets  and 
mirror  cases,  of  which  in  the  fourteenth  century  es- 
pecially there  are  numerous  examples,  though  one  might 
imagine  that  they  would  readily  suggest  themselves, 
even  if  in  a mirthful  way,  as,  for  instance,  we  see  them 
on  gargoyles,  or  in  the  misereres  of  choir  stalls.  We 
must  regret  the  absence  of  such  contemporary  pictures, 
and  the  loss  of  the  assistance  we  should  gain  from  them 
in  the  illustration  of  ecclesiastical  costume  and  sacred 
rites. 

The  examples  of  representations  of  saints  which 
we  do  possess  are  so  few  that  it  may  be  of  interest 
to  enumerate  them.  St.  Mennas,  with  his  camels, 
appears  on  a pyx  as  early  as  the  sixth  to  the  eighth 
century  (certainly  the  earliest  known  representation 
in  ivory  of  events  in  the  life  of  a saint),  and  again  in 
the  ninth.  In  the  ninth  we  have  St.  Gall,  and,  on 
a Rhenish  Byzantine  diptych,  St.  Gregory  with  the 
dove.  SS.  Nazarius,  Nicasius,  Remigius,  Gereon,  and 
Victor  are  represented  once  each  in  the  tenth  century, 
and  we  have  also  SS.  Stephen,  Vitus,  Modestus,  and 
Cassian.  We  find  SS.  Cosmas  and  Damian,  SS.  John 
Chrysostom,  Nicolaus,  Pantaleemon,  Nerus,  Achilleus 
Pancratius,  Justina,  Julia,  Daria  and  Basil  in  the 
eleventh  century,  and  St.  Gregory  more  than  once.  In 
the  twelfth,  SS.  Filibertus,  Agnathus,  Rusticus,  Denis, 
Eleutherus,  and  the  four  doctors  of  the  Church — 

13s 


IVORIES 

SS.  Gregory,  Ambrose,  Augustine,  and  Jerome.  We 
have  also  on  the  great  book  cover  of  Italian  work- 
manship in  the  Cluny  Museum  SS.  Vitalis,  Valeria, 
Lawrence,  Pantaleemon,  Gregory,  Benedict,  Herma- 
goras,  and  Nicolas.  St.  Francis  of  Assisi  preaching  to 
the  birds  and  fishes  appears  on  an  ivory  plaque  of  the 
thirteenth  century  in  the  Pesth  National  Museum.  It 
may  be  remarked  that  he  died  in  1226,  and  was  canonised 
by  Pope  Gregory  IX.  in  1230.  We  shall  also  notice, 
later  on,  a casket  of  the  thirteenth  century  with  a paint- 
ing of  St.  Felix.  St.  George  with  the  dragon  is  found 
fairly  often  in  the  fourteenth  century.  We  have  also  SS. 
Denis,  Christopher,  Margaret,  Eustace,  and  Laurence, 
and  St.  James  of  Compostella  is  represented  more  than 
once.  SS.  Agnes,  Catherine,  Martin,  Barbara,  Margaret, 
Sebastian,  Antony,  and  Francis  are  found  in  the  fifteenth 
century,  but  in  almost  solitary  instances  only.  Many 
of  the  saints  which  have  just  been  enumerated  are  not, 
it  will  be  observed,  very  familiar  to  us  at  the  present 
day,  and  it  is  curious  that,  with  the  possible  exception 
of  the  book  cover  in  the  Cluny  Museum,  the  great 
founder  of  the  Benedictine  order  is  conspicuous  for 
absence  in  our  ivory  carvings.  Finally,  we  know  no 
instance  in  ivory  of  a representation  of  St.  Veronica 
and  the  vera  icon.  The  list  may  not  be  an  exhaustive 
one,  but,  in  any  case,  examples  are  uncommon  and 
seldom  occur  more  than  once  or  twice. 

The  subject  of  ivory  carvings  which  illustrate  the 
ritual  is  of  considerable  interest,  and  the  following  are 
among  the  few  examples  that  we  have.  On  the  cover 
of  the  Sacrament  air e de  Metz  in  the  Paris  Library  are 
nine  ivory  plaques  of  the  ninth  century,  on  six  of  which 
are  illustrations  of  episcopal  ceremonials.  They  are  the 
ordination  of  a deacon  by  the  bishop,  the  blessing  of 
the  oils,  in  which  the  acolytes  wear  silken  veils  covering 
their  hands  ; the  bishop  anointing  a child  in  swaddling 
clothes  which  is  held  before  him,  an  attendant  with  the 
136 


ECCLESIASTICAL  DIPTYCHS 

bishop’s  pastoral  staff,  and  another  carrying  the  chrism; 
the  blessing  of  the  font,  an  acolyte  holding  a long  candle 
which  the  bishop  will  presently  dip  into  the  water ; the 
consecration  of  a church,  which  is  being  sprinkled  with 
holy  water  by  the  bishop,  two  priests  carrying  the  relics 
on  a kind  of  litter ; and  two  deacons  immersing  a child 
in  the  font,  the  bishop  standing  near  by  beneath  a canopy. 
On  the  back  of  the  cover  are  nine  more  plaques  repre- 
senting other  episcopal  ceremonies.  Two  other  plaques 
of  the  tenth  century  in  the  Louvre  represent  an  arch- 
bishop celebrating  mass,  surrounded  by  many  priests, 
thurifers,  acolytes,  and  other  attendants.  On  the  cover 
of  a lectionary  of  the  eleventh  century  in  the  British 
Museum  an  archbishop  is  represented  vested  in  chasuble 
and  pall,  holding  a tmi  in  one  hand  : two  small  figures 
kneel  and  kiss  his  feet.  It  is  of  walrus  ivory.  In  the 
public  library  at  Frankfurt  is  a highly  interesting  leaf  of 
a diptych  of  the  ninth  century.  A tonsured  priest  in  a 
very  full  chasuble  with  a border  resembling  a pallium 
(perhaps  the  ratioiiale  or  siiperhumerat)  stands  behind 
an  altar  facing  the  spectator.  On  the  altar  are  a 
two-handled  chalice,  a paten  on  which  are  three  altar 
breads  of  a peculiar  pearl  shape,  an  open  and  a closed 
book,  and  two  candles.  From  the  position  of  the 
hands,  it  is  the  moment  just  before  the  consecration  of 
the  wine.  In  the  open  book  the  words  beginning  the 
canon  of  the  mass  can  be  plainly  read.  There  are 
attendants  and  many  other  details  of  great  interest 
(figured  in  Passavant,  Archiv.,  i.  pi.  i).  A similar 
plaque,  with  a different  subject,  probably  the  other  half 
of  the  diptych,  was  in  the  Spitzer  collection.  On  a 
German  diptych  of  the  ninth  century  in  the  Berlin 
Library  an  archiepiscopal  figure  wearing  a chasuble  and 
pallium,  the  head  tonsured,  is  represented.  On  a late 
Carlovingian  diptych  of  the  tenth  century  St.  Nicasius 
is  in  episcopal  vestments,  attended  by  two  priests  wear- 
ing long  maniples.  On  a small  box,  German,  of  the 

137 


IVORIES 


tenth  to  twelfth  century,  in  the  Kensington  Museum, 
we  have  the  legend  of  some  saint,  from  the  three  scenes 
in  which  we  may  gather  details  concerning  the  ceremonies 
of  the  mass  and  monastic  costumes.  There  are  a few 
other  instances,  such  as  a bishop  in  a low  mitre  in  the 
volute  of  a pastoral  staff  of  the  thirteenth  century,  and 
some  isolated  figures,  but  not  many.  There  are  also 
the  bishops  in  the  Lewis  chessmen,  which  will  be 
noticed  separately. 


138 


CHAPTER  VIII 


RELIGIOUS  ART  IN  IVORY  OF  THE  THIRTEENTH, 
FOURTEENTH,  AND  FIFTEENTH  CENTURIES 

IN  the  ivory  carvings  of  the  three  centuries  with 
which  it  is  proposed  principally  to  deal  in  this 
chapter  we  shall  find  a class  of  work  which  in 
feeling  and  in  general  character  differs  very  consider- 
ably from  that  of  the  preceding  periods  since  the  introduc- 
tion of  Christianity.  Constantinople  had  fallen,  sacked 
and  almost  destroyed  by  the  French  and  Venetians,  and 
Byzantine  artists  no  longer  continued  to  influence,  or 
were  even  employed  in,  the  production  of  works  of  art 
for  the  western  nations.  The  rise  of  the  pointed,  or 
Gothic,  style  in  architecture  marks  the  epoch  of  a great 
and  lasting  change.  As  in  the  art  of  the  goldsmith 
and  bronze-founder,  so  also  in  our  ivory  carvings  will 
the  influence  of  architectural  lines  and  feeling  be  ap- 
parent. The  forms,  the  groupings,  the  surroundings 
became  brighter,  more  delicate,  more  cheerful — if  the 
term  may  be  applied — the  composition  more  studied 
and  scientific.  The  artist  goes  for  models  for  his 
figures  to  the  subjects  which  he  has  ready  to  hand  in 
his  immediate  surroundings — we  see  the  people  which 
he  saw,  the  character  and  joyousness  of  the  period  ex- 
pressed in  the  faces  and  attitudes  ; and  the  draperies  are 
in  the  fashion  of  the  time,  instead  of  as  formerly,  when 
for  centuries  the  stiff,  emaciated  limbs,  the  calm,  un- 
bending solemnity  of  feature,  the  stereotyped  system  of 

139 


IVORIES 

narrow  parallel  folds  had  scarcely  varied  since  Byzan- 
tine taste  and  feeling  had  almost  dogmatically  imposed 
them.  Not  that  we  shall  lose  sight  altogether  of  tra- 
ditionary styles  and  peculiarities.  They  will  crop  up 
now  and  again,  for  the  spirit  from  which  they  were 
evolved  would  not  easily  die  out,  and  there  remained 
more  than  reverence — there  was  love  for,  and  attach- 
ment to,  the  usefulness  of  such  symbolic  methods. 

It  is  not  easy  to  say  when  the  style  which,  in  our 
ivories,  we  call  Gothic,  actually  had  its  commencement. 
The  Romanesque  was  persisted  in  until  well  into  the 
thirteenth  century.  Naturally,  no  transitions  are  sudden. 
Artists  are  sure  to  work  for  many  years  in  an  old  system 
before  it  completely  disappears  and  a new  one  takes  its 
place.  In  the  architectural  tendencies  which  characterise 
the  Gothic  style  the  artist  learnt  to  be  more  precise  and 
more  particular  in  the  matter  of  perspective.  We  no 
longer  find  different  stories  placed  one  above  the  other 
in  the  same  picture,  or  buildings  put  together  like  toy 
bricks  and  tumbling  about  in  all  directions.  Every 
little  scene  or  grouping  is  naturally  arranged. 

The  three  centuries  which  will  now  occupy  our 
attention — the  thirteenth,  fourteenth,  and  fifteenth,  and 
especially  the  fourteenth — will  find  us  in  full  7}ioyen 
age,  in  a world  in  which  religion  was  supreme  and 
governed  all ; in  an  age  of  piety  and  of  Christian 
chivalry ; at  a period  of  the  world's  art  when  there  was 
practically  but  one  form,  and  that  the  religious  one, 
when  the  workmen  were  the  artists  of  the  cloister,  and 
the  monastery  enclosure  was  the  centre  from  which 
civilisation  proceeded  and  was  directed.  The  state  of 
England,  as  well  as  the  rest  of  Christendom  in  those 
times,  was,  so  far  as  religious  influence  is  concerned, 
not  very  different  from  that  which  has  continued  in 
Russia  to  the  present  day.  A monastery  was  the  centre 
and  most  important  part  of  a great  town.  It  was  not 
an  isolated  building,  surrounded,  perhaps,  by  a park, 
140 


RELIGIOUS  ART  IN  IVORY 

but  often  a vast  walled-in  enclosure  within  which  were 
scattered  churches,  shrines,  refectories,  workshops,  and 
detached  blocks  of  buildings.  The  monastery,  in  many 
cases,  possessed  and  governed  the  greater  part  of  the 
neighbouring  town,  and  was  responsible  for  many  of 
the  industries  which  were  carried  on.  Patiently  and 
diligently  the  monk  of  those  days  sat  at  his  accustomed 
daily  employment  in  the  preparation  of  manuscripts, 
and  in  their  subsequent  adornment  with  illuminations 
and  miniatures ; and  from  similar  workshops,  we  imagine, 
must  have  issued  the  exquisite  examples  of  ivory  carvings 
in  the  form  of  diptychs,  triptychs,  and  other  objects  of 
devotional  use.  From  no  other  source  could  one  expect 
to  find  bestowed  upon  them  that  loving  care  and  devo- 
tion which  the  mind  of  an  artist,  whose  every  thought 
was  concentrated  on  their  conception  and  production, 
was  able  to  give  to  them. 

In  general,  and  especially  from  the  tenth  to  the 
twelfth  century,  the  art  of  sculpture  in  the  west  had 
fallen  very  low.  It  is  to  the  ivory  carvings  of  these 
periods  that  we  have  to  look  for  redeeming  features  of 
a deplorable  condition  of  things  resulting  from  a debased 
imitation  of  classic  styles  hardly  tempered  by  an  infusion 
of  Byzantine  regularity  or  mannerisms.  In  Italy,  besides 
some  noble  work  of  the  Pisan  school,  we  find  little  else 
that  can  be  referred  to  until  we  come  to  the  great  bronze 
gates  of  Ghiberti,  which  practically  occupied  in  their 
making  the  whole  of  the  fifteenth  century.  In  the 
fifteenth  century,  too,  we  shall  find  the  names  of  Dona- 
tello and  his  school,  of  Luca  della  Robbia  and  Verrocchio. 
We  are  preparing  for  the  renaissance,  for  Michael  Angelo, 
Cellini,  and  those  whose  names  will  loom  large  in  the 
history  of  sculpture  in  the  succeeding  century,  when  the 
art  of  ivory  carving  in  its  turn  will  show  evidence  of 
the  commencement  of  a period  of  decline  and  decay. 
It  will  be  useful  to  connect  these  periods  with  the 
general  history  of  the  time ; from  the  days  of  Magna 


IVORIES 

Charta,  in  the  early  part  of  the  thirteenth  century, 
through  the  reigns  of  Henry  III.  and  of  the  first 
Edwards,  through  the  wars  with  France,  the  battles  of 
Poictiers  and  Agincourt,  past  the  troublous  times  of  the 
wars  of  the  Roses,  in  the  reigns  of  the  sixth  and  seventh 
Henrys  and  of  Richard  III.,  and  to  the  end  of  the 
fifteenth  century  and  the  accession  of  Henry  VI 1 1. 

In  the  earlier  days,  sculpture,  generally,  had,  as 
has  been  pointed  out,  come  to  a low  and  degraded 
condition  ; on  the  other  hand,  in  painting  there  were 
Cimabue,  Giotto,  and  Van  Eyck,  and,  at  the  end  of  the 
period,  Raphael,  Diirer,  and  Perugino.  Nor  were  these 
days  without  troublous  times  for  the  Church.  The 
interdict  under  which  England  lay  for  six  years  under 
King  John  in  the  beginning  of  the  thirteenth  century, 
and  with  which  France  was  afflicted  in  the  fourteenth, 
must  surely  have  had  some  effect  on  the  production  and 
use  of  works  of  art  for  ecclesiastical  and  devotional 
purposes.  We  shall  find  that  ivory  was  very  largely 
used  for  the  decoration  of  ecclesiastical  furniture,  and 
for  the  making  of  all  sorts  of  objects  used  in  the  litur- 
gical services  of  the  Church,  and  for  private  devotional 
purposes.  There  were  diptychs  and  triptychs,  retables  or 
altar-pieces,  pastoral  staffs  or  crosiers,  shrines,  statuettes, 
caskets,  book  covers,  liturgical  combs,  portable  altars, 
holy-water  buckets,  and  a number  of  lesser  articles.  All 
these  are  interesting,  not  only  for  their  artistic  value, 
but  often,  besides  this,  because  of  the  uses  to  which 
they  were  put,  and  on  account  of  the  incidental  associa- 
tions attached  to  the  subjects  represented  upon  them. 
Not  only,  however,  were  diptychs  and  shrines,  statuettes, 
and  the  like  required  for  the  public  services  of  religion. 
The  age  was  a devotional  one,  and  the  demand  was  very 
great  for  private  devotional  purposes.  As  a consequence, 
probably,  of  the  repeated  travels  of  men  to  the  East 
during  the  crusades,  such  portable  aids  to  devotion 
were  made  in  large  quantities.  Religious  objects  of 
142 


RELIGIOUS  ART  IN  IVORY 

one  kind  or  another  were  always  carried  on  the  person, 
scarcely  a room,  certainly  no  sleeping  apartment,  was 
without  its  shrine  or  triptych,  the  shutters  of  which 
would  be  closed  as  an  ordinary  rule,  and  opened  at  the 
moment  of  prayers.  They  formed  also  elegant  presents, 
and  often,  no  doubt,  answered  to  the  little  odds  and  ends 
which  are  to  be  found  nowadays  in  ladies’  drawing-rooms. 
We  shall  see  presently  in  the  cases  of  these  diptychs  and 
triptychs  that  they  had  their  stories  to  tell,  their  instruc- 
tion to  give.  They  were  meant  to  be  examined,  and  if, 
as  is  probable,  they  were  made  to  suit  all  tastes,  and 
were  adapted  for  people  of  small  as  well  as  large  means, 
and  therefore  perhaps  not  always  equally  perfect  in 
execution,  still  of  those  which  have  come  down  to  us 
there  is  scarcely  one  which  will  not  claim  our  admiration, 
while  of  many  it  may  be  said  that  sculpture  has  produced 
nothing  better  since  the  days  of  Constantine.  At  no 
time  also  would  fine  ivory  have  been  anything  but  a 
somewhat  costly  luxury,  and  therefore  it  was  hardly 
likely  to  have  been  used  except  for  work  of  a high  char- 
acter and  by  the  best  artists. 

Of  the  three  centuries  with  which  we  shall  be  most 
particularly  concerned  it  is  remarkable  that  the  fourteenth 
furnishes  us  with  a very  large  majority  of  the  finer  works 
to  be  found  in  our  museums  and  private  collections,  and 
of  these  nearly  all  are  of  French  origin.  At  the  same 
time  we  have  in  the  thirteenth,  and  again  in  the  fifteenth, 
specimens  which  cannot  be  surpassed,  and  it  is  reasonable 
to  suppose  that  many  more  have  been  lost  or  have  suffered 
destruction.  We  find  in  inventories  and  other  documents 
of  the  fourteenth,  fifteenth,  and  sixteenth  centuries  fre- 
quent references  to  religious  objects  in  ivory  preserved 
in  churches,  amongst  the  effects  of  princely  and  noble 
personages,  or  bequeathed  by  will.  In  the  privy  purse 
expenses  of  Elizabeth  of  York  (1502)  there  is  mention 
of  a “chest  of  ivery  with  the  Passion  of  our  Lord  thereon.” 
Instances  occur  amongst  the  inventories  of  cathedrals 

143 


IVORIES 

and  churches  also,  as,  for  example,  “a  box  of  yvory  with 
xi  relics  therein  ” in  the  church  of  St.  Mary  Outwich 
(1518),  or  a “ lytill  yvory  cofyr  with  relekys”  belonging 
to  St.  Mary  Hill,  London.  And  in  the  inventory  of  the 
treasure  belonging  to  St.  Paul’s  in  1295  “a  broken  ivory 
pyx:  also,  two  boxes  of  ivory.”  And,  again,  at  Durham 
in  1383,  “an  ivory  casket  containing  a vestment  of  S. 
John  the  Baptist,”  “an  ivory  coffer  containing  a robe  of 
S.  Cuthbert,”  and  “other  ivory  caskets  with  divers  relics.” 

Perhaps  the  most  interesting  of  many  that  might  be 
referred  to  is  the  inventory  of  the  extraordinarily  rich 
treasure  of  the  cathedral  of  Lincoln  made  in  the  fifteenth 
century,  and  again  taken  under  Henry  VI 1 1.,  for  his 
own  unworthy  purposes,  in  1536.  The  earlier  inventory 
is  in  Latin,  but  we  shall  quote  from  the  later  English 
one,  making,  when  necessary,  a reference  to  the  first. 
Amongst  the  multitude  of  magnificent  objects  in  gold 
and  silver  and  jewels,  adornments  of  altars  and  shrines, 
and  sets  of  splendid  vestments,  we  find  : — 


“ In  primis,  one  tabernacle  of  I very  w‘  ij  leves  gymelles  and  loke  of 
sylver  contenynge  the  coronacion  of  ow"^  lady.  Item,  a tabernacle  of 
Every  stondyng  opon  iiij  feete  w*  ij  leves  w*'  one  Image  of  ow'  lady  yn 
the  mydle  and  the  salutacion  of  ow""  lady  yn  one  leve  and  the  Nativitie 
of  owr  lady  yn  the  other. 

“ Item,  a lytyll  Tabernacle  of  Every  lakyng  a glasse. 

“ Item,  a grett  chyste  of  Every  vv*'  Images  rownd  aboute  w‘  one 
handle  of  copo''  havyng  a Jewell  typped  at  every  end  sylver  contenyng 
many  Relykes.  . . .”  (Probably  very  large,  as  a long  list  of  the  contents 
was  given  in  the  previous  inventory.) 

“ Item  a chiste  of  sypers”  (cypress)  “bound  w*"  copo*"  ornate  w'^  peces 
of  Every  contenynge  dyverse  Relykes. 

“ Item  a lytyll  chiste  of  Every  bound  w*  sylver  contenyng  the 
Relikes  of  Seynt  Remyg”  (St.  Remigius,  bishop  of  Lincoln). 

“ Item,  other  iij  chistes  of  Every  bound  w*  copo*". 

“ Item  a chiste  of  Every  full  of  Images  havyng  a loke  & claspes  of 
sylver  of  the  gyft  of  dame  Elizabeth  Vahons. 

“ Item  a nother  rownd  pyxe  of  Every  bound  w‘  copo''  contenyng 
the  relikes  of  the  sepulc''  of  owr  lord  and  of  the  cheyn  w*'  the  wyche 
saynt  Kateryn  bound  the  devell. 

“ Item  a pyxe  of  Every  havyng  a Rynge  of  sylver  & no  loke. 

“ Item  one  other  pyxe  lyke  the  sonne  of  Every  bound  w*  sylver  w^ 

144 


RELIGIOUS  ART  IN  IVORY 

one  loke  and  one  broken  claspe  of  sylver  contenyng  parte  of  the  hede 
of  one  of  the  xj  m‘  virgins. 

“Item  a pyxe  of  Every  bound  above  & be  neygh  w*  sylver  and  gylte 
havyng  a squared  steple  yn  the  topp  \v‘  a ryng  & a rose  and  a scochon 
yn  the  bothom  havyng  w‘  y".  . . . 

“ Item  iij  lytyll  crosses  and  one  of  Every  ornate  w‘  playtes  of  sylver.” 


The  inventory  of  1548  refers  to  nearly  all  the  same 
objects.  In  the  year  1553,  when  another  was  taken, 
three  only  of  the  pyxes  appear,  and  two  of  the  taber- 
nacles ; but  they  are  all  struck  out  and  do  not  figure  in 
subsequent  lists.  The  term  “tabernacle,”  no  doubt, 
generally  means  a reliquary  of  some  kind,  though  we 
may  remember  that  the  expression  “tabernacle  work” 
was  used  to  denote  small  carving  of  the  diptych  or 
triptych  kind.  Such,  probably,  were  the  “tabernacles 
with  leves  ” in  the  first  entry  above.  But  what  could 
mean  the  tabernacle  “ lakyng  a glass  ” ? 

Such  lists  are  interesting,  showing  us,  amongst  other 
things,  how  ivory  caskets  were  mounted  in  silver  and 
silver  gilt  and  copper,  and  we  may  form  an  idea  that 
they  were  magnificent.  Not  one  example  of  such 
mountings  has  come  down  to  us.  Probably  numbers 
of  the  plaques  that  we  now  find  in  collections  are  simply 
detached  portions  of  once  splendid  reliquaries. 

Of  the  terrible  destruction  of  religious  property  at 
the  time  of  the  Reformation  in  England,  parish  registers 
and  churchwardens’  accounts  give  us  the  history  pretty 
plainly,  especially  in  the  twenty  years  from  1550  to  1 570. 
One  record  of  the  county  of  Lincoln  sums  up  the  enumera- 
tion as  “the  rest  of  the  trash  and  tromperie  wch  aper- 
taynid  to  the  popish  service.”  While  altar  stones  were 
broken  and  defaced,  turned  into  cistern  bottoms,  set  into 
fire  hearths,  or  used  for  mending  walls,  or  laid  in  the 
highways  to  “ sarve  as  bridges  for  sheepe  and  cattail  to 
go  on,”  one  wonders  to  what  secular  uses  ivory  coffers, 
caskets,  and  figures,  holy-water  buckets  and  the  rest 
could  have  been  put.  They  must  have  abounded,  if  not 
L 145 


IVORIES 

of  English,  at  any  rate  of  foreign  workmanship ; but  our 
greatest  regret  will  be  for  the  loss  of  examples  of  English 
work,  which,  though  instances  are  now  but  few  indeed, 
we  can  scarcely  doubt  must  have  been  fairly  numerous 
in  cathedral  and  abbey  treasuries.  The  amount  of  riches 
in  the  treasuries  of  the  cathedrals  may  be  estimated  from 
the  note  appended  to  the  inventory  already  referred  to  of 
the  cathedral  at  Lincoln,  taken  in  the  time  of  Henry  VIII. 
The  memorandum  is  there  made  that  by  force  of  the 
commission  appointed  by  the  King,  there  was  taken  out 
of  the  said  cathedral  church  2,621  ounces  of  gold  and 
4,285  ounces  of  silver,  besides  a great  number  of  pearls 
and  precious  stones,  which  were  of  great  value,  as 
diamonds,  sapphires,  rubies,  turquoises,  carbuncles,  etc. 
Also  that  there  were  at  that  time  two  shrines,  the  one 
of  pure  gold,  called  St.  Hugh’s  shrine,  the  other,  called 
St.  John  of  Dalderby,  of  pure  silver. 

All  this,  in  the  words  of  the  King’s  Letters  to  the 
Royal  Commission  : — 

“ For  as  moch  as  we  understand  that  there  ys  a certayn  shryne  and 
diverse  fayned  Reliquyes  and  Juels  in  the  Cathedral!  church  of  Lyncoln 
with  whiche  all  the  symple  people  be  moch  deceaved  and  broughte  in  to 
greate  supersticion  and  Idolatrye  . . . beinge  mynded  to  bringe  o' 
lovinge  subiectes  to  y®  righte  knowledge  of  y®  truth  ...  do  aucthorise 
name  and  appointe  you  ...  to  see  the  sayd  reliquyes  Juels  and  plate 
safely  to  be  conveyde  to  owr  towre  of  London  in  to  owr  Jewyll  house 
there  chargeing  the  m'  of  owr  Jewyls  w^*’  the  same.” 

The  marvel  is,  that  after  the  so  frequent  and  terrible 
destructions  of  church  property  that  have  occurred  from 
time  to  time  throughout  the  world,  so  much  remains 
to  this  day.  The  French  Revolution  at  the  end  of  the 
eighteenth  century  performed  the  same  work  for  the 
churches  in  France  that  the  Reformation  accomplished 
in  England.  As  one  instance,  a writer  in  the  Archceo- 
logical  Journal  of  1856  states  that  he  had  spoken  with 
old  men  who  remember  having  seen  all  the  copes, 
chasubles,  crosses,  and  pictures  which  were  in  the 
church  and  treasury  of  Beauvais  collected  in  a great 
146 


RELIGIOUS  ART  IN  IVORY 

heap  before  the  door  of  the  church,  and  set  fire  to  as  a 
fen  de  joie  in  1793.  It  would  seem  to  be  a law  of 
nature  that  such  destructions  should  take  place  from 
time  to  time.  The  pyramids  and  massive  sepulchres 
of  Egypt  have  not  secured  their  contents  ; nor  even  are 
the  museums  of  modern  days  more  safe  repositories, 
for  at  the  time  of  the  Crimean  War  the  museum  at 
Kertch  was  despoiled,  and  its  magnificent  collections  of 
treasures  of  the  finest  period  of  Greek  art  were  wantonly 
burnt  and  scattered  to  the  winds  by  the  allied  troops. 
We  are  fortunate,  then,  in  having  still  preserved  for  us 
a certain  number  of  examples  of  the  beautiful  ivory 
sculptures  of  the  middle  ages.  Probably  their  com- 
paratively small  intrinsic  value  has  saved  them  ; at  the 
same  time,  the  very  same  reason  has,  no  doubt,  caused 
countless  numbers  to  be  thrown  aside,  and  to  have 
perished  as  worthless. 

Throughout  the  entire  range  which  is  covered  by 
sculpture  in  ivory,  from  the  earliest  times  of  which  we 
are  able  to  produce  specimens  down  to  our  own  days, 
the  period  which  we  are  now  considering  stands  out 
alone  in  special  interest,  and  in  the  peculiar  character 
and  charm  which  attach  to  the  methods  of  treatment, 
and  to  the  associations  with  the  religious  and  domestic 
life  of  the  period.  It  is  especially  connected  with  the 
rise  and  progress  of  the  new  system  of  architecture, 
and  in  following  its  development  it  may  be  said  that 
we  can  follow  at  the  same  time,  side  by  side,  the  history 
of  architecture  from  the  thirteenth  to  the  sixteenth 
centuries.  It  is,  in  fact,  monumental  sculpture  on  a 
small  scale.  Not,  however,  that  the  one  is  a copy  of 
the  other,  but  an  adaptation  of  the  same  sentiments 
and  principles ; and  we  must  not  forget,  in  examining 
the  figure  work,  and  especially  those  most  exquisite 
statuettes  which  are  of  all  ivory  carvings  the  most 
beautiful  and  the  most  captivating,  that  they  differ  from 
the  monumental  sculpture  of  the  period,  inasmuch  as 

147 


IVORIES 

documents  of  the  middle  ages.  For  bringing  the  chest 
of  ivory  mentioned  in  the  privy  purse  expenses  of  Eliza- 
beth of  York,  the  servant  of  the  Lady  Lovell  is  paid 
35.  4</.;  the  chest,  therefore,  must  have  been  very  valuable, 
for  that  sum  would  represent  more  than  ^2  of  our  money, 
for  the  carriage  alone.  Then  there  was  in  the  church  of 
St.  Mary  Outwich,  London,  in  1518,  “a  box  of  eivery 
garnyshede  with  sylver,”  according  to  the  “ enventorye 
of  all  the  hournaments  ” of  that  parish.  The  word  pyx 
was  in  early  times  applied  to  any  sort  of  box,  usually 
round  in  shape,  for  containing  ointments  and  spices. 
We  find  it  afterwards  in  the  middle  ages  used  for  small 
boxes  of  many  kinds,  for  preserving  unconsecrated  wafers 
and  the  like,  and  even  for  reliquaries;  but  it  was  more 
properly,  and  is  now,  a vase  in  which  the  host  is  reserved 
in  the  tabernacle.  For  this  purpose,  however,  it  can 
only  be  of  precious  metal,  generally  in  the  form  of  a 
chalice  with  a veil,  or,  for  the  larger  hosts,  a circular 
box  standing  on  a foot.  In  ivory,  therefore,  we  need 
not  always  understand  pyxes,  properly  so  called.  It  is 
certain,  however,  that  in  the  earlier  ages  ivory  boxes 
were  constantly  used  for  preserving  and  carrying  the 
sacrament,  and  amongst  the  property  belonging  to  the 
church  of  St.  Faith  under  St.  Paul’s  we  find  “ an  ivory 
pyx  in  which  the  Eucharist  is  kept  ” : at  Canterbury, 
“j  pixis  de  ebore  ad  hostias.”  In  the  Greek  Church, 
as  before  mentioned,  there  are  ivory  pyxes  called 
panagias.  And  the  synod  of  Exeter  in  1287  orders 
the  sacrament  to  be  carried  to  the  sick  in  pyxes  of 
silver  or  ivory.  In  the  Durham  treasury  in  the 
fourteenth  century  is  mentioned,  “ Item,  a tooth  of  S. 
Gengulphus,  good  for  the  falling  sickness,  in  a small 
ivory  pyx.”  In  1384  there  were  in  the  treasury  of  St. 
George’s,  Windsor,  “a  noble  ivory  pyx  garnished  with 
silver  gilt,”  and  another  of  the  same  description,  and  at 
Lincoln,  three  round  pyxes  of  ivory,  bound  with  silver, 
and  four  others  of  ivory ; all  of  these  we  may  take  to 
150 


RELIGIOUS  ART  IN  IVORY 

be  for  sacramental  use.  Reference  must  also  be  made 
to  the  cylindrical  pyx,  with  conical  cover,  engraved  with 
simple  bands  of  lines  and  small  circles,  and  with  an 
Arab  inscription,  in  the  treasury  of  St.  Gereon  at 
Cologne  ; probably  of  the  time  of  the  crusades. 

To  come  to  caskets  of  a more  ordinary  kind  and 
shape,  a very  remarkable  one  of  the  thirteenth  century 
in  the  museum  at  Kensington  is  of  wood  overlaid  with 
thin  plaques  of  ivory.  The  dimensions  are  thirteen  and 
a quarter  inches  in  length  by  six  and  a half  in  height 
and  six  and  three  - quarters  in  width,  rectangular, 
with  a sloping  lid.  It  is  painted  and  gilt  in  the  style 
of  the  miniatures  of  the  period,  and  has  probably  en- 
closed a reljc  of  St.  Felix,  for  it  bears  the  inscription, 
“ s.  FELIX:  Fi:  ET:  MAR.”,  and  the  archbishop  is  repre- 
sented, enthroned  and  vested  in  red  chasuble  and  mitre 
and  the  other  episcopal  vestments.  His  pastoral  staff 
is  surmounted  by  a cross.  The  other  subject  is  the 
Virgin  and  Child,  and  the  casket  is  also  ornamented 
with  twenty-two  shields  of  arms,  now  almost  entirely 
defaced.  It  is  mounted  with  gilt  metal  mounts  and  lock. 

A French  casket  of  the  fourteenth  century,  in  the 
same  museum,  has  the  sides  filled  with  scenes  of  the 
martyrdom  of  St.  Margaret : on  the  lid  are  four  saints, 
St.  John  Baptist,  St.  Agnes,  St.  Barnabas,  and  St. 
Catherine,  standing  under  a canopy  of  four  pointed 
arches  with  cusps  and  crocheted  pediments. 

We  may  take  next  two  very  fine  examples  of  the 
rare  pierced  or  open  work  which  is  characteristic  of  the 
fourteenth  century.  They  are,  as  usual,  French,  and 
we  find  them  both  in  the  collection  at  South  Kensington. 
The  first  consists  of  a plaque  (probably  one  of  several) 
in  which  are  figures  of  our  Lord,  St.  Peter,  and  St. 
Paul,  standing  under  a rich  canopy  of  three  small  arches, 
above  which  rise  pediments  with  a rose  and  quatrefoil 
in  each.  The  back  of  every  niche  is  filled  with  tall, 
pointed,  decorated  windows,  and  above  are  three  com- 


IVORIES 

partments  in  which  are  represented  the  Annunciation, 
the  Adoration  of  the  Kings,  and  the  Presentation.  The 
effect  of  the  whole  of  this  elaborate  architectural  decora- 
tion, which  is  carried  out  in  the  most  careful  way,  so 
that  every  detail — even  the  groining  and  the  patterns  of 
the  under  parts  of  the  canopies — can  be  clearly  seen,  the 
groups,  the  twelve  smaller  figures  under  canopies  separ- 
ating the  principal  divisions,  the  noble  figures,  and  the 
fact  that  every  portion  is  covered  with  minute  and  delicate 
work,  presents  an  extraordinary  richness  and  harmony. 
It  is  indeed  one  of  the  many  beautiful  examples  of  the 
connection  with  architecture,  before  referred  to,  which 
will  meet  us  so  constantly  in  the  ivory  sculpture  of  the 
period. 

Not  less  admirable  is  the  series  of  panels  carved  in 
open  work  with  scenes  from  the  Passion.  Those  which 
we  now  have  in  the  museum  are  five  in  number,  but  it 
is  probable  that  they  form  part  of  a set  of  twenty-four. 
We  have  again  the  richly  decorated  pointed  archi- 
tectural work,  crocketed  and  finialed,  with  tiny  figures 
of  angels  playing  on  instruments,  or  singing  from 
scrolls,  between  each  gable.  But  our  attention  will  be 
directed  more  to  the  arrangement  and  execution  of  the 
various  scenes,  in  which  we  have,  even  in  these  five 
panels  only,  as  many  as  eight  distinct  episodes  of  the 
Passion,  bringing  in  fifty  or  sixty  figures.  In  most 
cases,  with  the  exception  of  our  Lord,  the  personages 
represented  are  in  the  costume  of  the  period,  the  men 
in  surcoats  belted  low  down  beneath  the  hips,  with 
pointed  hoods,  the  women  in  flowing  gowns  and  with 
veils  and  wimples.  Four  plaques,  which  formed  prob- 
ably part  of  this  set,  brought  no  less  than  ^^1,240  at  the 
dispersal  of  the  Gibson-Carmichael  collection  in  1902. 

A very  interesting  casket  in  the  museum  at  Ken- 
sington is  English  work  of  the  fifteenth  century.  It  is 
filled  with  small  panels,  which  are  carved  with  no  less 
than  twenty  subjects  from  the  life  of  the  Virgin  and  of 
152 


PLATE  XXVII  OPENWORKED  PANELS.  FRENCH  (BURGUNDIAN) 

I.  THIRTEENTH  CENTURY.  2,  3.  FOURTEENTH  CENTURY 


RELIGIOUS  ART  IN  IVORY 

her  parents — St.  Joachim  and  St.  Anne.  They  are 
taken  from  apocryphal  accounts,  as  it  would  appear, 
from  the  Golden  Legend,  so  popular  in  the  middle  ages. 
There  are  in  all  twenty  panels,  and  most  of  the  subjects 
are  beneath  a canopy  of  a single  flat  ogee  arch.  We 
find  also  the  linen  pattern,  a favourite  one  in  English 
work  of  the  time.  Traces  of  the  original  colouring  and 
gilding  remain. 

English  ivories  are,  unfortunately,  extremely  rare, 
and  their  rarity  is,  no  doubt,  due  for  the  most  part  to 
the  causes  to  which  we  have  already  referred  ; but  we 
can  hardly  doubt  that  ivory  was  extensively  worked  in 
England  in  gothic  times  as  it  was  elsewhere,  and  it  may 
be  said  that  the  few  examples  which  we  have  are  as  re- 
markable for  excellence  of  treatment  and  purity  of  feeling 
as  we  should  expect  to  find  in  the  work  of  men  contem- 
porary with  those  who  designed  and  built  the  magnificent 
cathedrals  and  churches  of  England,  which  yield  to  no 
other  country  in  grandeur  and  beauty.  And  if  we  take 
minor  works,  who  that  knows  the  grand  candlestick  (of 
the  twelfth  century)  in  the  museum  at  Kensington,  called 
the  Gloucester  candlestick,  can  doubt  that  at  that  time 
there  were  English  artists  who  could  have  held  their  own 
with  any  others  for  imagination  and  skill  in  execution, 
and  that  they  would  have  abounded  also  in  the  succeed- 
ing centuries  ? 

It  must  be  admitted  that  there  is  considerable  diffi- 
culty in  assigning  the  country  of  origin  in  the  case  of 
mediaeval  ivory  carvings.  The  palm  must  unquestionably 
be  given  to  France ; but  still  we  must  not  be  too  hasty, 
and  assume  that  every  fine  piece  of  work  came  from 
that  country.  Costume,  unfortunately,  helps  us  but 
little,  as  it  was  similar  in  most  parts  of  Europe.  But 
we  can  be  guided  by  certain  peculiarities  in  the  arrange- 
ment of  draperies  in  the  larger  pieces  ; in  perhaps  a 
more  solemn  and  realistic  expression  in  English  faces, 
in  contradistinction  to  the  gaiety  and  smiling  charm  of 

153 


IVORIES 


the  French  treatment.  Altogether,  taking  into  account 
the  influence  which  most  certainly  would  have  been 
exercised  by  Flemish,  French,  and  Italian  artists  and 
their  work,  we  may  reasonably  incline  towards  adding 
to  the  credit  of  English  workmen  more  examples  than 
the  few  that  are  usually  somewhat  grudgingly  allowed 
to  them.  Indeed,  amongst  those  which  we  think  are 
characteristic  and  may  be  so  claimed,  we  are  strongly 
inclined  to  place  many  of  the  beautiful  series  of  panels, 
with  scenes  from  the  Passion,  which  are  so  frequent. 
The  expressions  of  the  faces  are  often  remarkable, 
certain  details  of  costumes  and  the  chain  mail  of  the 
figures  are  characteristic,  and  there  is  also  the  treatment 
of  the  subject  of  the  Harrowing  of  Hell. 

It  is  natural  that  ivory  plaques  should  continue  to 
be  used  for  book  covers  in  the  same  way  as  so  many  of 
Byzantine  workmanship.  We  should  expect,  indeed, 
that  those  wonderful  and  costly  illuminated  manuscripts 
should  have  no  less  noble  and  costly  bindings  allotted 
for  their  preservation.  Doubtless,  also,  many  detached 
plaques  to  be  found  in  collections  formed  originally 
portions  of  book  covers,  and  besides  these,  there  would 
be  some  made  in  the  first  place  for  caskets  or  other  pur- 
poses, and  afterwards  adapted  for  the  bindings  of  books. 
An  example  is  another  specimen  of  the  pierced  work  of 
the  fourteenth  century,  than  which  nothing  finer  of  the 
kind  is  anywhere  in  existence.  It  is  the  book  cover  of 
French  origin,  now  in  the  British  Museum.  This  extra- 
ordinary piece  of  ivory  sculpture  is  of  no  greater  dimen- 
sions than  about  six  inches  in  length  by  four  and  a 
quarter  in  width,  and  yet  in  this  restricted  space  we 
have  no  less  than  thirty  small  panels,  each  hardly  an 
inch  square,  and  containing  each  a scene  from  the  life 
of  the  Virgin  in  the  most  exquisite  and  delicate  open 
work.  It  is  not,  however,  merely  a tour  de  force  with 
a crowd  of  figures,  treated  in  the  manner  of  perspective, 
such  as  is  common  later  on  in  German  work  of  the 


154 


PLATE  XXVI II  OPENWORKED  PANEL,  AND  BOOKCOVER.  FRENCH 


FOURTEENTH  CENTURY 


RELIGIOUS  ART  IN  IVORY 

seventeenth  century,  and  in  French  of  the  eighteenth. 
There  are  in  these  little  groups,  every  one  of  which  has 
a complete  story  plainly  told,  a charm  and  simplicity,  a 
directness  of  purpose,  with  no  appeal  to  our  admiration 
on  account  of  difficulties  on  the  score  of  minuteness, 
which  put  them  entirely  out  of  the  category  of  those 
later  works  to  which  we  have  just  referred.  For  all  this, 
every  figure,  and  in  some  panels  there  are  as  many  as 
seven  or  eight,  is  easily  recognisable,  and  the  expressions 
are  as  carefully  worked  out  as  they  might  have  been  on 
a much  larger  scale.  The  divisions  between  the  rows 
of  compartments,  there  being  five  compartments  in  each 
row,  are  of  the  utmost  simplicity,  and  completely  un- 
ornamented. 

Very  important  indeed  amongst  the  ivory  carvings 
of  these  ages  are  the  diptychs,  polyptychs,  and  small 
shrines  which  are  perhaps  more  richly  represented  in  the 
museum  at  South  Kensington  than  in  any  other  collec- 
tion in  the  world.  On  this  account  it  will  be  convenient 
to  draw  nearly  all  the  examples  which  will  be  referred  to 
from  that  source.  In  speaking  of  religious  tablets  of 
this  kind,  we  mean  by  a diptych  a pair  of  plaques  hinged 
together,  and  so  forming  a kind  of  book  of  two  thick 
leaves.  A triptych  has  a centre  tablet  and  two  narrower 
ones  hinged  one  on  each  side  in  such  a manner  that  they 
fold  and  meet  in  the  centre.  Sometimes  there  are  more 
leaves,  or  the  arrangement  is  such  as  to  form  a kind  of 
recess,  within  which  a statuette  or  group  may  be  placed 
and  enclosed  by  the  folding  wings  and  centre  doors.  In 
this  fashion  they  are  usually  called  shrines.  But  in  the 
ordinary  diptychs  we  may  also  distinguish  two  varieties: 
one  where  the  sculptured  pictures  within  are  disposed 
in  rows,  as  we  find  them  on  plaques  or  book  covers,  the 
other  where  the  figures  are  larger,  and  one  subject  only 
is  represented  on  each  leaf.  Differing  from  classical 
diptychs,  the  outer  sides  of  the  leaves  are  usually  quite 
plain. 


155 


IVORIES 

Nothing  is  more  typical  of  the  fertile  imagination, 
the  harmonious  composition,  and  the  devotional  feeling 
of  the  artists  of  these  periods  than  these  charming 
carvings.  In  all  those  which  we  shall  select  for  special 
notice,  and  in  many  more  to  which  it  is  impossible  to 
refer,  there  is  subject-matter  for  admiration.  Indeed,  it 
may  be  said  that  they  are  mines  in  which  at  every  moment 
we  make  fresh  discoveries.  The  architectural  surround- 
ings are  delightfully  appropriate,  forming,  as  it  were, 
miniature  sanctuaries  or  oratories.  The  costumes  and 
draperies  of  the  period  seem  perfectly  natural,  and  in  no 
way  shock  our  feelings.  Somehow,  the  idea  of  ana- 
chronism does  not  occur  to  us.  There  is  no  crowding 
in  the  tableaux  or  overloading  with  ornament,  and  the 
main  purpose,  so  admirably  fulfilled,  appears  to  be  a 
decorative  scheme,  perfect  in  balance,  unerring  in  sim- 
plicity, and  yet  never  leaving  out  of  sight  the  devotional 
use  and  the  valuable  instruction  to  be  gained  from  the 
pictorial  representation  of  the  gospel  narratives.  Above 
all  must  the  decorative  scheme  be  borne  in  mind.  By  a 
kind  of  instinct  the  artist  knew  exactly  the  true  arrange- 
ment of  his  lines,  and  how  rightly  to  fill  or  leave  unfilled 
a vacant  space.  This  must  not  be  forgotten  when  ap- 
parently there  may  be  a mannerism  sometimes  in  certain 
attitudes,  in  certain  seeming  disproportion  of  limbs,  in 
what  at  first  may  appear  unnatural.  These  things  did 
not  arise  from  ignorance  or  want  of  skill,  but — to  take 
one  instance  only,  which  will  be  again  referred  to  later 
on,  that  of  a peculiar  bend  or  twist  in  the  figure — they 
constituted  a charm  which  was  felt  then,  and  is  felt  now. 
Such  feelings  may  be  acquired  tastes.  Possibly;  and  it 
is  certain  that  acquired  tastes  are  never  quick  in  asserting 
themselves,  but  they  are  very  lasting. 

It  will  be  worth  while  to  compare  the  treatment  of 
some  of  these  scriptural  tableaux  with  those  of  earlier 
times,  which  have  been  referred  to  in  previous  chapters. 
Allowing  for  the  difference  in  costume  and  the  different 
156 


RELIGIOUS  ART  IN  IVORY 

type  of  features,  we  shall  find  the  same  system,  the  same 
feelings,  the  same  suggestiveness,  by  means  of  which  a 
slight  detail,  a well-understood  symbol,  a placing  of  a 
figure  or  group  in  a particular  manner,  is  made  to  say 
a great  deal.  Again,  we  shall  recognise  particular  person- 
ages by  certain  unvaried  draperies,  or  by  a physiognomy 
or  even  method  of  arranging  the  hair  which  will  be  found 
to  be  usual.  And  with  regard  to  the  feeling  with  which 
these  holy  subjects  are  treated,  we  are  still  in  the  age 
when  tenderness  prevails.  Even  in  the  most  sacred 
scenes  of  all  there  is  almost — if  we  may  say  so — a spirit 
of  gaiety.  We  have  not  yet  come  to  the  times  when 
horror  and  agony  and  the  most  terribly  realistic  suffering 
are  invoked,  to  claim  our  pity  and  devotion.  At  least, 
it  is  not  thought  necessary  so  to  represent  them.  On  the 
other  hand,  nothing  could  be  more  touching,  or  could 
fulfil  its  purpose  more  properly,  than  such  a representa- 
tion, as  we  find  so  frequently — for  instance,  in  the  diptych 
(plate  xxxii.)  which  we  have  illustrated — of  the  suffer- 
ing heart  of  the  Holy  Mother  at  the  moment  of  the 
crucifixion. 

We  shall  find  in  collections  many  examples  of  diptychs 
with  very  numerous  scenes  treated  in  compartments.  It 
is  not  unlikely  that  the  system  first  arose  before  the  artist 
sculptors  had  learnt  how  to  pourtray  many  figures  and 
actions  in  one  scene.  It  was  necessary  to  put  one  set 
of  groups  over  another,  and  so  they  had  to  break  the 
composition  up  and  divide  it,  and  the  manner,  perhaps, 
was  afterwards  persisted  in  as  a matter  of  fashion.  But 
the  arrangements  are  rarely  complicated.  No  doubt 
every  artist  often  went  to  the  same  source,  to  some 
Golden  Legend  or  apocryphal  gospel,  and  thus  there  is 
a certain  amount  of  repetition.  But  in  that  religious 
age,  if  the  only  books  were  religious  ones,  and  such 
things  as  these  the  illustrated  ones — without  a text,  for 
few  could  read  if  there  were  one — we  may  take  it  that 
such  sacred  narratives  were  subjects  of  everyday  talk 

157 


IVORIES 


and  discussion.  These  beautiful  pictures  would  be 
shown  with  pride,  and  pass  from  hand  to  hand  ; every 
allusion,  every  expression,  would  be  easily  caught  up 
and  commented  upon.  They  formed,  in  fact,  a kind  of 
7nemoria  technica,  a convenient  way  of  impressing  on 
the  mind  the  principal  events  of  Holy  Writ.  Every 
incident  is  recalled  and  fixed  on  the  memory ; even  the 
peculiarity  of  the  treatment  helps  to  do  this.  Take,  for 
example,  the  beautiful  fourteenth-century  diptych  of 
English  workmanship  which  is  here  illustrated,  where 
so  much  is  compressed  in  the  tiny  compartments. 
In  the  upper  division,  on  one  leaf  we  have  the  visit 
of  the  Marys  to  the  tomb.  There  is  the  garden  re- 
presented by  a tree.  Near  by  the  gardener  (as  Mary 
Magdalen  imagined,  for  it  is  the  Noli  me  t anger e 
episode  that  we  have  here)  leans  upon  His  staff,  Mary 
kneeling  to  Him,  her  upraised  hands  indicating  the 
question  that  she  is  addressing  to  Him.  The  angel  is 
seated  on  the  sepulchre.  He  points  with  his  hand  to 
the  interior  of  the  tomb  to  show  that  it  is  empty.  The 
grave-clothes  are  shown  as  they  have  been  left ; the  three 
holy  women  stand  behind  the  tomb  with  their  vases  of 
unguents  and  spices.  Beneath  the  sepulchre  lie  the 
sleeping  guards.  What  matter  if  they  are  attired  in 
the  hauberks  and  mail  of  the  period?  The  whole  story 
is  brought  distinctly  before  us  in  all  its  details,  and 
every  incident  is  treated  in  such  a manner  as  to  leave 
a definite  image  on  the  mind.  And  so  with  all  the 
other  episodes  which  are  succinctly  related,  on  so  many 
of  these  little  carvings,  in  a kind  of  pictorial  shorthand. 
Compared  with  the  fourteenth,  those  of  the  thirteenth 
century  are  few  in  number,  but  the  three  that  we  shall 
select  for  reference  are  of  peculiar  interest.  Two  of  them 
are  English,  and  of  these  one  is  the  earliest  specimen 
of  English  gothic  work  that  we  know.  The  third  is 
French,  a triptych  which  for  beauty  is  not  to  be  surpassed 
by  any  other  example  in  existence.  The  leaf  of  a small 
158 


PI. ATP.  .\XIX 


I.  CASKET.  ENG  I, IS  H 

FIFTEEN' rn  CFI.N'TUKV 


2.  UIPIA'CH.  ENGLISH 

FOU  R P EEN-I'  II  CE  X I'U  R V 


ti 


- ■ .< 


RELIGIOUS  ART  IN  IVORY 

English  diptych  was  found  about  1853  in  the  Minories, 
London.  It  is  very  deeply  carved,  the  figures  being 
almost  detached.  In  the  two  compartments  are  re- 
presented the  Crucifixion,  and  the  Virgin  seated  and 
crowned  with  the  Holy  Child  on  her  knee.  It  is  men- 
tioned in  the  proceedings  of  the  Archaeological  Institute 
in  1855.  In  the  museum  at  Kensington  is  a fine  diptych 
of  English  work  with  scenes  from  the  IHssion  (No. 
367*7 1 ).  There  are  three  subjects  on  each  leaf,  again 
in  very  high  relief,  cut  clear  from  the  background.  We 
find  the  soldiers  at  the  sepulchre  in  chain  mail  with  sur- 
coats  and  hooded  hauberks.  Our  Lord  carries  a crosier 
at  the  Resurrection.  Another  scene  is  the  Descent  into 
Hell,  often  called  the  Harrowing  of  Hell.  This  diptych 
was  bought  in  1871  for  ^200.  The  subjects,  in  six 
scenes,  read  from  the  left  corner  upwards  from  left  to 
right,  a very  usual  arrangement. 

A fine  diptych,  late  fourteenth,  perhaps  even  fifteenth- 
century  work,  formerly  in  the  Meyrick  collection,  is  now 
in  the  Kensington  Museum,  lent  by  Mr.  Salting.  It  is 
of  most  unusual  and  remarkable  thickness  of  ivory  and 
depth  of  carving,  standing  out  nearly  an  inch  from  the 
background,  and  measures  eight  by  four  inches.  On 
one  leaf  is  the  Virgin  and  Child,  on  the  other  our  Lord 
holding  a book.  The  draperies  and  workmanship  are 
excellent.  The  cusped  and  crocheted  arch  above  each 
figure  must  be  noted.  It  is  partly  gilt,  and  traces  of 
colour  remain. 

A plaque,  or  leaf  of  a diptych,  as  it  is  called,  of  the 
fourteenth  century  is  also  in  the  museum  (No.  94*82), 
bought  in  1882  for  j£iio.  The  carving  is  again  nearly 
an  inch  deep,  and  the  treatment  very  unlike  any  other 
figures  of  the  kind.  The  Virgin  is  seated,  under  a plain 
arch,  holding  the  Child  on  one  arm.  The  drapery, 
especially  the  veil,  which  on  the  further  side  of  the  face 
has  a kind  of  realistic  transparency,  is  unusual.  So 
also  is  the  attitude  of  the  Child,  fully  clothed,  and  with 

159 


IVORIES 

the  limbs  tucked  under,  as  it  were.  Altogether  some 
expression  of  doubt  concerning  the  genuineness  of  this 
tablet  might  be  permitted. 

We  may  take  next  the  wonderful  triptych  (No.  I75’66), 
French  work  of  the  thirteenth  century,  in  the  Kensington 
Museum,  which  was  acquired  in  1866  for  ^210.  The 
condition  in  which  we  find  it  is  marvellous,  when  we 
consider  the  minute  and  delicate  carving,  and  the  number 
of  projecting  pieces.  It  seems  in  every  way  as  perfect 
as  the  day  it  was  made,  and  one  must  suppose  has  been 
most  carefully  preserved  and  hidden  away.  As  an  illus- 
tration is  given,  it  is  hardly  necessary  to  do  more  than 
call  attention  to  the  architectural  detail,  the  canopies  of 
pointed  arches,  the  arcading  in  the  spandrels,  the  turrets, 
pinnacles,  and  rose  windows.  Remarkable  also  are  the 
delicacy  of  the  slender  pillars,  and  the  minute  detail, 
even  to  the  spears,  which  are  quite  uninjured.  The 
subjects  represented  are  the  Visit  of  the  Magi  and  the 
Presentation  in  the  Temple ; the  Triumph  of  the  New 
Law  and  figures  of  the  Virgin  and  St.  John;  the  Reward- 
ing of  the  Blessed  and  the  Punishment  of  the  Wicked, 
with  two  figures  of  angels  blowing  trumpets.  These  are 
in  the  wings  of  the  triptych.  In  the  central  portion,  our 
Lady  seated;  the  Crucifixion,  the  Last  Judgment.  Note 
the  kneeling  figure  of  the  bishop  and  his  floriated  crosier, 
the  charming  figures  of  the  angels  throughout,  and  the 
beautiful  one  of  the  Virgin  in  the  centre  of  the  left-hand 
wing.  We  must  remark  also  here  a not  uncommon 
emblem,  that  of  the  triumph  of  the  new  law  over  the 
old.  The  old  law  is  always  represented  by  a figure 
whose  crown  has  half  fallen  off,  her  eyes  partly  bandaged, 
the  head  leaning  to  one  side,  and  a pennoned  spear 
broken  in  three  pieces,  but  not  yet  quite  detached,  in 
one  hand.  The  new  dispensation  is  symbolised  by  a 
triumphant  crowned  figure,  with  a church  in  one  hand 
and  a perfect  spear  with  pennon  in  the  other. 

A triptych  which  was  carved  for  Grandisson,  bishop 
160 


PLATE  XXX 


I.  TRIPTYCH.  FRENCH 

THIRTEENTH  CENTURY 


2.  DIPTYCH.  FRENCH 

FOURTEENTH  CENTURY 
( Fitz-Houy  Collection) 


rLAIE  X.Wl  IHK  (iRANDIS.SOX  l UlI’IACII  ANM)  DIPIACII. 


RELIGIOUS  ART  IN  IVORY 

of  Exeter,  English  fourteenth-century  work,  is  in  the 
British  Museum.  The  centre  is  divided  into  two  com- 
partments; in  the  lower  is  the  Crucifixion,  in  the  upper 
the  Coronation  of  the  Virgin,  and  there  are  groups  and 
figures  of  saints.  In  the  panels  over  the  canopies  are 
roses  and  the  arms  of  Grandisson,  who  was  bishop  from 
1327  to  1369. 

There  is  also  in  the  British  Museum  one  leaf  of  a 
beautiful  diptych  made  for  the  same  prelate.  It  is 
divided  into  two  compartments.  In  the  upper  half  is 
the  Annunciation.  The  Virgin,  sitting,  bends  her  head 
aside  as  if  listening  to  the  dove  which  approaches  closely 
to  her  ear,  or  to  the  angel  who  kneels  at  her  feet.  In  the 
lower  half  St.  John  the  Baptist  is  represented  seated  on 
a rock  and  pointing  to  an  Agnus  Dei  which  he  holds  in 
the  left  hand.  There  are  slight  traces  of  the  arms  of 
the  bishop  on  a shield  in  one  corner.  A leaf  of  a dip- 
tych in  the  Louvre  is  evidently  the  companion  to  the 
one  just  described.  The  upper  half  represents  the  coro- 
nation of  the  Virgin  in  an  identical  manner  to  the  central 
part  of  the  Grandisson  triptych.  In  the  lower  half  St. 
John  the  Evangelist  is  seated  on  a large  decorated  bench, 
on  one  end  of  which  is  a movable  d^esk,  and  the  saint 
is  writing  with  a style.  An  eagle,  the  emblem  of  the 
evangelist,  is  perched  near  him.  The  deeply  carved 
arcading  surmounted  by  quatrefoils  is  the  same ; there 
are  the  same  roses  in  the  angles,  and  the  same  shield  of 
arms.  The  figures,  also,  are  extremely  characteristic, 
and  entirely  different  from  any  which  we  find  in  French 
or  German  work  of  the  same  period.  All  these  pieces 
should  be  compared  with  the  diptych  of  English  work 
of  the  fourteenth  century,  in  the  museum  at  Kensington 
(No.  6824’58). 

Reference  has  already  been  made  to  examples  some- 
times hastily  classed  as  French  or  Italian  work,  which 
seem  to  claim  some  right  to  their  proper  position  as  the 
productions  of  English  artists.  A case  in  point  is  the 

M i6i 


IVORIES 

beautiful  diptych  in  the  possession  of  Count  Escalopier, 
of  which  there  is  a cast  in  the  museum  at  Kensington 
(No.  54’72).  An  instructive  comparison  may  be  made 
between  this  diptych  and  the  English  example  (No. 
367’7i)  which  we  have  described  and  illustrated,  remark- 
ing, in  particular,  the  general  character  of  the  figures, 
especially  of  the  scourgers,  the  treatment  of  the  “harrow- 
ing of  hell,”  and  the  borders  of  rosettes  or  roses  between 
the  subjects.  Compare  again  the  English  example  for 
the  manner  in  which  the  hanging  of  Judas  is  repre- 
sented, with  the  splendid  triptych  which  we  have  illus- 
trated (No.  2ii’65),  and  for  the  crucifixion  of  the  two 
thieves,  noting  that,  in  the  first,  the  feet  are  not  tied  ; 
with  the  French  diptych  (No.  293’67)  for  the  deposition 
and  entombment,  and  all  of  these  with  the  English  dip- 
tych (No.  6824’58),  the  above  numbers  being  those  of 
the  museum  at  Kensington.  One  more,  a diptych  in  the 
Louvre  (cast  No.  54*73  at  Kensington).  The  figures  of 
the  scourgers  are  certainly  of  an  English  type. 

Another  case  in  point  is  the  extremely  beautiful  half 
of  a diptych  found  in  1885  at  Mansfield,  Nottingham, 
and  now  in  the  British  Museum.  The  subjects,  in  four 
compartments,  are  the  Resurrection,  the  women  at  the 
sepulchre,  St.  Martin,  and  two  apostles.  These  questions 
of  origin  are  not  easy  to  solve.  However  they  may  be, 
we  have  in  the  Grandisson  examples  three  superb  ivories, 
designed  and  executed  with  a boldness  and  charm  which, 
in  their  way,  it  would  be  difficult  to  surpass.  Graceful 
and  charming  above  all  is  the  kneeling  figure  of  the  angel 
in  the  diptych. 

With  more  hesitation,  perhaps,  but  holding  a certain 
amount  of  probability,  amounting  to  not  far  short  of 
conviction,  the  opinion  may  be  expressed  that  we  may 
attribute  to  English  workmanship  the  plaques,  or  semi- 
statuettes, carved  in  very  deep  relief,  which  were  formerly 
in  the  Meyrick  and  are  now  in  the  Salting  collection. 
We  have  already  described  them  (page  159).  A com- 
162 


RELIGIOUS  ART  IN  IVORY 

parison  with  the  English  statuette  of  the  Virgin  and 
Child  in  the  Kensington  Museum  (No.  7’72)  and  with 
the  Grandisson  diptych,  will  show  in  all  three  distinctive 
English  characteristics.  We  find  in  the  high  forehead, 
the  expression  of  the  eyes,  the  arrangement  of  the  hair, 
and  general  physiognomy  of  the  Virgin,  and  in  the 
treatment  of  the  figure  of  the  Child,  a remarkable 
similarity.  But  probably  the  architectural  style  will  be 
more  decisive,  although,  it  may  be  said,  it  was  common 
to  England  and  France  in  the  late  fourteenth  and  early 
fifteenth  centuries. 

To  these  instances  of  possible  English  origin  must 
be  added  the  admirable  statuette  in  the  British  Museum, 
in  which  the  Virgin  offers  her  breast  to  the  Holy  Child, 
who  stands  unclothed  on  her  lap ; a plaque  of  the  four- 
teenth century,  with  subjects  in  small  circles,  in  the 
Salting  collection  ; and  a curious  pax  which  is  there 
labelled  Italian.  We  have  also  a narrow  tablet  of  the 
fourteenth  century  in  the  British  Museum,  representing 
the  Crucifixion,  with  two  rosettes  in  the  upper  corners  ; 
and  an  interesting  plaque  in  the  Mayer  collection  at 
Liverpool,  on  which  Henry  VI.  of  England  is  seated, 
in  his  royal  robes,  under  a canopy  and  attended  by 
nobles,  in  a manner  which  recalls  the  seals  of  the  period. 
Finally,  there  are  the  seven  plaques  and  diptychs  in  the 
Ashmolean  Museum  at  Oxford. 

We  come  next  to  a very  fine  French  diptych,  of  early 
fourteenth  - century  work,  at  Kensington  (No.  2ii’65), 
extremely  rich  in  architectural  decoration,  and  of 
unusual  excellence  of  workmanship,  but  above  all  re- 
markable for  the  extraordinary  number  of  detached 
scenes  represented  within  such  a limited  compass.  On 
each  leaf  are  three  compartments,  surmounted  each  by 
an  elaborate  canopy,  composed  of  three  pointed  arches 
springing  from  corbels,  and  beneath  every  arch,  which 
is  hardly  more  than  an  inch  in  width,  is  a separate 
subject  of  the  Passion,  so  that  there  are  in  all  no  less 

163 


IVORIES 

than  eighteen  distinct  episodes  depicted.  Charming  is 
the  manner  in  which,  with  a few  figures  or  indications, 
the  whole  of  a story  is,  so  to  speak,  sketched,  and  yet 
how  completely  and  sufficiently ! For  instance,  in  the 
Resurrection,  our  Lord,  holding  the  cross-headed  staff,  is 
seated  on  the  tomb,  and  beneath  are  two  sleeping  mailed 
knights.  In  the  Ascension  two  figures  of  apostles  look 
upwards  in  astonishment ; above  is  a cloud,  two  dis- 
appearing feet,  and  the  lower  part  of  a garment.  The 
taking  down  from  the  cross  is  perfect,  with  its  four 
figures  one  of  which  is  extracting  the  nails  with  pincers. 
The  betrayal  by  Judas  is  indicated  by  his  attitude;  in 
the  division  next  following  he  is  receiving  the  money, 
and  in  the  next  he  is  hanging  from  the  tree,  and  his 
bowels  gushing  out  in  the  manner  in  which  this  grue- 
some incident  is  so  often  represented.  Throughout,  the 
expressions  on  the  faces  of  every  figure  are  carefully 
studied  and  executed,  and  the  draperies — all  of  which 
are  flowing  ones,  and  not  costumes  of  the  period — are 
admirable.  The  backgrounds  of  each  division  are 
coloured  blue,  the  hair  and  beards  of  the  figures  and  ' 
some  details  of  the  architecture  gilded.  This  fine  trip-  | 
tych  was  sold  at  the  Soltikoff  sale  for  ^165,  and  , 
eventually  found  its  way  to  South  Kensington,  in  1866,  I 
for  two  hundred  guineas.  ' 

A French  diptych  of  the  fourteenth  century,  at  Ken- 
sington (No.  294’67),  is,  perhaps,  as  characteristic  a | 
specimen  of  fine  work  of  the  kind  as  could  be  selected.  | 
It  is  of  the  description  in  which  one  subject  only  is  ) 
represented  on  each  leaf.  We  have  here,  on  one,  the 
Virgin  and  Child  attended  by  angels,  on  the  other  the  | 
Crucifixion,  both  beneath  a canopy  of  three  crocheted 
arches,  with  finials.  Our  illustration  will  show  the 
admirable  design  and  execution.  The  figure  of  the 
Virgin,  recalling  the  style  of  the  statuettes  which  will  , 
presently  come  under  our  notice ; the  half  figures  of  I 
angels,  on  one  leaf  swinging  censers,  on  the  other  in  j 
164 


PLATE  XXXII 


DIPTYCHS.  FRENCH 

FOUinEENTH  CENTURY 


/■/■:. V.V.V///  TK  I !■  r\ fll^.  I Kl-.NCII 


RELIGIOUS  ART  IN  IVORY 

most  charming  attitudes  of  grief ; the  most  touching 
representation  of  the  Virgin  fainting  and  falling  into 
the  arms  of  the  two  attendant  women  ; the  Saviour 
hanging  on  the  cross  as  if  at  the  moment  just  before 
death,  the  grief  of  the  assistants  shown  merely  by  the 
conventional  method  of  holding  their  hands — one  angel 
descending  from  above  with  covered  and  averted  face, 
the  other  wringing  his  hands  with  an  expression  of 
despair ; the  contrast  with  the  joyousness  of  the  scene 
on  the  other  leaf  of  the  diptych  ; all  this,  and  more, 
perhaps,  make  our  example  one  of  the  most  typical 
which  could  be  given  of  the  devotional  art  of  this 
period.  To  those  who  should  fail  to  be  touched  by  it, 
or  unable  to  recognise  the  merits  of  the  system,  it 
would  be  useless  further  to  appeal.  The  relief  on  this 
diptych  is  very  deep,  and  the  entire  execution  admirable. 
It  is  one,  the  theme  of  which  is  similarly  treated  in 
examples  to  be  found  in  many  collections,  but  rarely  of 
so  fine  a character  as  that  which  has  just  been  described. 

The  next  example — again  French  of  the  fourteenth 
century,  and  at  Kensington  (No.  I4i’66) — is  still  more 
in  the  nature  of  a shrine.  The  centre  is  entirely  filled 
by  a figure  of  the  Virgin  with  the  Child  in  her  arms, 
in  bold  and  deep  relief  against  the  plain  background  ; 
an  angel  has  just  placed  the  crown  upon  her  head.  The 
wings  are  occupied  by  six  smaller  subjects.  The  archi- 
tecture is  simple,  but  effective,  and  again  we  are  charmed 
with  the  delightful  angel  figures,  and  note  how  wonder- 
fully the  drapery,  especially  of  the  one  in  the  act  of 
crowning,  is  expressed.  Beautiful  also  is  the  tender 
expression  of  the  mother  gazing  at  the  Child,  who  looks 
up  with  confidence.  Note,  again,  the  exquisite  delicacy 
of  the  hands  of  both,  the  elegant  arrangement  of  the 
veil.  The  piece  is  of  unusually  large  dimensions,  the 
centre  portion  measuring  twelve  inches  by  six.  The 
price  given  was,  for  those  days  (1866),  considered  high, 
/448. 

165 


IVORIES 

There  are  two  more  shrines  in  the  museum  (Nos. 
37o’7i  and  4686’58)  which  must  be  noticed.  In  each 
the  figure  of  the  Virgin — almost  a statuette — is  beneath 
a canopy,  the  slender  pillars  of  which  stand  out  detached 
in  front  and  support  it.  The  shutters  are  each  twofold, 
and  close  in  the  whole  as  in  a small  cabinet.  The 
relief  of  all  the  principal  figures  is  very  deep,  the 
draperies  remarkably  good,  and  the  whole  has  been 
painted  and  gilded.  Both  are  pieces  of  the  fourteenth 
century,  and  although  called  French,  there  is  really  no 
reason  why  one  at  least  (the  second  named)  should  not 
be  claimed  as  English  work.  Fine  as  they  are,  there  is 
quite  as  much  evidence  for  this  ascription  as  for  the  other. 
The  state  of  preserv^ation  is  remarkable ; not  one  of  the 
beautiful  and  delicately  carved  hands  and  other  portions 
which  project  a good  deal  is  broken  off. 

Another  example  of  most  marvellous  preservation  is 
that  of  a diptych  in  the  museum  lent  by  Mr.  Fitz- 
Henry.  Both  as  regards  the  condition  of  the  ivory  itself 
— pure  white,  with  not  a crack  or  flaw,  except  slightly  in 
the  thinner  backgrounds — and  the  absolutely  uninjured 
state  of  the  carving,  it  is  as  if  it  had  but  just  left  the 
artist’s  hands.  The  piece  is  also  not  less  beautiful  and 
remarkable  in  other  ways.  It  contains  four  subjects, 
viz.  the  entry  into  Jerusalem,  the  washing  of  the  feet 
of  the  apostles,  the  raising  of  Lazarus,  and  the  Last 
Supper.  The  relief  is  again  somewhat  deep,  and  the 
design  and  treatment  excellent.  It  is  interesting  to 
compare  this  piece  with  another  French  diptych  of  the 
same  century  in  the  museum  collection  (No.  2()d6’]). 
The  latter  has  six  subjects,  three  of  which  (the  feet- 
washing,  the  entry,  and  the  Last  Supper)  have  many 
points  of  resemblance  in  design  and  execution  with  that 
of  Mr.  FitzHenry.  The  feet-washing  in  the  FitzHenry 
diptych  is,  however,  perhaps  more  striking,  though  in  a 
certain  way  it  appears  to  lack  solemnity.  But  how 
admirably  the  treatment  of  the  hair  of  the  apostles  who 


PLATE  XXXIV  I.  TRIPTYCH.  FRE^■CH  2.  DIPTYCH.  FRKaXH 

FOURTEENTH  CENTURY  FOURTEENTH  CENTURY 

( Collect io:t  0/  Rri'.  Eihclbert  Horne 


I 


h 


9 


rl.AlF.  x.vxr  I.  l.EAK  OF  DIFTVCH.  FKFXCH 


l KKN  I'II  L'KN  TL  KV 


2.  DIPTVCH  (COLOURED).  FLEMISH 

l Il-TKEN-rH  CENTURY  (sizcof  Original) 


RELIGIOUS  ART  IN  IVORY 

are  standing  by  contributes  to  the  decorative  arrange- 
ment of  the  composition  ! The  raising  of  Lazarus  is 
somewhat  unusual,  and  is  wanting  in  the  South  Ken- 
sington piece,  as  well  as  in  another  of  the  same  style, 
period,  and  school  (No.  291 ’67).  We  have  in  all  three 
an  identical  figure  casting  off  his  clothes  on  the  entry 
into  Jerusalem  ; but  in  the  Last  Supper,  in  the  Fitz- 
Henry  example,  the  Magdalen  lies  at  the  Saviour’s  feet, 
and  this  is  wanting  in  the  others.  Note  also  how  in 
the  raising  of  Lazarus,  several  of  the  figures  hold  their 
hands  to  their  noses — “ for  by  this  time  he  stinketh.” 

The  description  of  such  diptychs  and  shrines  as  we 
have  been  noticing  might  be  prolonged  almost  in- 
definitely. It  must  suffice  to  say  that  both  in  the  British 
and  Liverpool  museums,  especially  in  the  latter,  are 
many  other  admirable  examples.  In  the  Wallace  col- 
lection also  there  is  a very  beautiful  early  fourteenth- 
century  leaf  of  a French  diptych,  in  almost  full  relief, 
representing  the  Crucifixion.  The  figures  are  very  fine, 
especially  the  crucifix  itself,  above  the  arms  of  which  we 
have  the  angels  with  the  sun  and  moon,  which  are  usual. 
On  either  side  are  the  two  thieves,  and  we  see  here  the 
method  of  their  death  treated  in  the  manner  which  was, 
at  that  time  at  least,  traditional.  Their  feet  are  nailed, 
the  arms  bound  behind  the  arms  of  the  cross.  Little  or 
no  distinction  is  made  in  the  character  or  expression  of 
the  faces  of  the  good  or  impenitent  thief.  There  is  also, 
in  the  same  collection,  another  with  scenes  from  the 
Passion,  in  no  way  inferior  to  any  of  those  especially 
noticed.  All  the  ivories  in  the  Wallace  collection  are 
in  exceptionally  fine  condition. 

We  have  made  no  mention  of  German  and  Italian 
works  of  this  kind,  not  because  there  are  not  many  of 
them,  but  because  we  do  not  find  many  examples  of 
particular  excellence  in  our  own  collections,  and  it  would 
be  impossible  to  notice  everything.  An  example  must 
be  given  of  the  bone  work  common  in  Italy,  during  the 

167 


IVORIES 

fourteenth  and  fifteenth  centuries  especially,  to  which 
attention  will  again  be  drawn  when  describing  secular 
caskets  in  a succeeding  chapter.  A very  large  Italian 
triptych  or  retable  in  the  museum  at  Kensington  (No. 
76o6’6i)  illustrates  very  well  these  decorative  altar- 
pieces.  The  pieces  of  bone,  each  about  two  inches  wide, 
carved  on  their  convex  faces,  are  placed  upright  side  by 
side  as  required.  In  this  case  the  subjects,  which  are 
the  Crucifixion,  gospel  narratives,  and  figures  of  saints, 
occupy  two  panels  in  the  centre  and  two  on  each  of  the 
wings  of  the  triptych.  The  whole  is  divided  and  framed 
with  marquetry  of  wood  inlaid  with  ivory  in  the  style 
known  as  Certosina  work,  to  which  reference  will  again 
be  made,  and  mounted  on  a base  of  the  same  character. 

It  will  be  noticed  that,  for  diptychs  and  shrines  of 
the  kind  we  have  been  describing,  we  do  not  go  beyond 
the  fourteenth  century.  For  whatever  reason,  nothing 
of  value,  at  least  nothing  so  admirable,  of  a later  period 
appears  to  have  come  down  to  us.  Or,  not  to  be  too 
sweeping,  we  may  say  it  is  not  to  be  found  in  our  public 
collections. 

Perhaps  after  the  praise  which  may  appear  to  have 
been  lavished  upon  these  beautiful  examples  of  fourteenth- 
century  religious  art,  it  may  seem  that  we  could  go  no 
further  in  our  admiration.  Yet  there  is  another  class  of 
which  we  do  not  hesitate  to  say  that  it  must  be  placed 
at  the  culminating  point  to  which  the  imagination,  the 
sincerity,  and  the  technical  skill  of  the  artists  of  these 
times  had  attained.  We  refer  to  the  charming  series  of 
statuettes  of  the  Virgin  and  Child,  of  which  the  Ken- 
sington Museum  has  a rich  collection,  and  to  others 
which  are  the  treasured  possessions  of  such  museums 
as  those  of  the  Louvre,  of  the  Hotel  Cluny,  and  of 
famous  public  and  private  collections  throughout  the 
world.  And,  again,  we  need  go  no  further  for  illustra- 
tions than  to  our  own  museum  at  Kensington,  for  the 
series  there  to  be  seen  could  scarcely  be  matched  else- 


PLATE  XXXVI  PREDELLA  OF  AN  ALTAR-PIECE. 

KOURTEE.NTH  CENTURY 


ITAI.IAN 


RELIGIOUS  ART  IN  IVORY 

where,  and  is  certainly  sufficiently  representative.  Most 
beautiful  and  tender  in  treatment  are  these  charming 
figures  of  the  thirteenth  and  fourteenth  centuries.  They 
represent  and  bring  home  to  us  the  truly  devotional  spirit 
in  which  the  artist  approached  his  work,  the  elevation  in 
thought  and  style,  the  delicacy  and  refinement,  the  love 
and  reverence  which  he  lavished  upon  them.  And  with 
all  this  there  is  a simplicity,  a pathos,  a life  and  anima- 
tion, which  show  them  to  be  the  work  of  men  whose 
lives  were  devoted  to  religious  ideas,  who  loved  their 
art,  and  who  worked  solely  for  the  love  of  it  and  in  the 
cause  of  religion.  Yet  again  must  it  be  said  that  their 
reward  is  in  these  works  alone.  As  perhaps  they  were 
content  it  should  be,  so,  in  no  single  instance,  have  we 
any  trace  of  their  names. 

The  earliest  example  which  we  have  at  South  Ken- 
sington is  a French  statuette  of  the  thirteenth  century 
(No.  203’67),  and  indeed  most  of  those  in  the  museum 
are  also  French,  though  we  shall  make  the  same  reser- 
vation with  regard  to  the  possible  English  origin  of 
some  of  them  that  we  have  previously  made.  We  must 
be  guided  in  this  matter  mainly  by  the  character  of 
expression  and  by  the  disposition  of  the  drapery.  The 
Virgin  is  seated,  clothed  in  a tunic  girdled  round  the 
waist  and  falling  in  loose  and  elegant  folds.  On  her 
head  is  a veil  concealing  most  of  the  hair,  and  over  it 
a narrow  coronet.  The  Child  is  supported  on  one  arm, 
and  she  gazes  at  Him  affectionately,  holding  a foot  in 
one  of  her  hands  and  watching  Him  as  He  plays  with 
a dove  held  downwards  by  both  wings. 

All  our  following  examples,  with  one  exception, 
will  be  of  the  fourteenth  century.  The  first  (No. 
4685’58)  is  a seated  figure  of  unusually  large  dimen- 
sions. The  Virgin  is  vested  in  the  same  manner  as  the 
last  described,  and  the  Holy  Child  stands  on  her  knee, 
turning  towards  her  with  affection  and  holding  a small 
globe  in  one  hand.  He  is  dressed  in  a single  long 

169 


IVORIES 

garment,  and  one  foot  is  shown  bare.  It  is  interesting 
to  notice  that  the  artist,  wishing  to  take  advantage  of 
the  best  part  of  the  top  of  a large  tusk,  found  himself 
in  a difficulty,  and  consequently  the  proportions  of  the 
head  and  upper  part  of  the  figure  are  too  small  and  the 
length  of  the  leg  too  great.  This,  however,  detracts 
but  little,  if  at  all,  from  the  grace  of  the  whole. 

As  an  example  of  the  application  to  figures  of  very 
large  pieces  of  ivory,  it  may  be  worth  while  to  quote 
the  dimensions  of  the  largest  statuette  of  this  kind 
known,  formerly  in  the  possession  of  Mr.  Alexander 
Barker.  It  is  a standing  figure,  within  an  inch  of  two 
feet  high,  and  six  inches  wide  at  the  base,  and  the 
height  of  the  figure  of  the  Child,  who  is  sitting  on  His 
mother’s  arm,  is  seven  and  a half  inches.  The  whole 
figure  slopes  to  the  left,  in  accordance  with  the  growth 
of  the  tusk,  and  opportunity  may  here  be  taken  to 
remark  upon  the  peculiar  bend  or  twist  which  is  found 
so  commonly,  not  only  in  ivory  figures,  but  in  those  of 
stone  or  wood  in  cathedrals  and  churches,  and  even  on 
seals  and  in  paintings  and  illuminations  of  the  Virgin 
or  of  female  saints.  A marble  Virgin  and  Child,  of 
the  fourteenth  century,  in  the  cathedral  at  Antwerp,  is 
entirely  in  the  style  of  the  ivories.  Undoubtedly  the 
origin  of  this  peculiarity  arose  from  the  difficulty  which 
the  worker  in  ivory  lay  under  of  dealing  with  the  natural 
curve  of  the  tusk.  But  there  is,  after  all,  a peculiar  grace 
and  charm  in  the  treatment  which  was  forced  upon  them, 
and  so  it  came  about  that  they  were  loath  to  abandon 
it  even  in  cases  when  there  was  no  absolute  necessity. 
We  shall  find  this  attitude,  therefore,  in  several  figures 
of  the  Virgin  and  Child,  in  the  shrines  which  have 
previously  been  noticed.  It  became,  in  fact,  the  fashion, 
and  was  extended  to  secular  figures  in  sculpture  and 
paintings  also.  It  has  an  appearance  of  mannerism, 
no  doubt,  but  it  is  unquestionably  not  displeasing.  And 
is  there  not  also  something  analogous  to  the  attitude  in 

I/O 


PLATE  XXXVIl  STATUETTE.  VIRGIN  AND  CHILD 


FOUKTEENTH  CENTURY 


RELIGIOUS  ART  IN  IVORY 

which  a woman  often  stands  when  carrying  a heavy 
child  in  her  arms? 

An  English  statuette  of  the  fourteenth  century,  at 
Kensington  (No.  7’72),  in  which  the  Virgin  is  standing, 
illustrates  this  peculiarity.  She  is  vested  in  the  usual 
manner,  her  long  robe  falling  over  and  covering  com- 
pletely the  feet.  The  Holy  Child  throws  His  right 
arm  affectionately  round  the  neck  of  His  mother,  a 
beautiful  action  of  which  we  seldom  find  examples. 
There  can  be  no  mistaking  the  English  character  of 
this  group,  nor  can  there  be  any  doubt  about  another, 
a sitting  figure,  in  the  museum,  in  which  there  is  also 
a peculiarity,  inasmuch  as  the  Virgin  sits  holding  the 
Child  with  the  right  hand  instead  of  with  the  left  in 
the  almost  invariable  manner.  And  again,  one  of  the 
most  beautiful  statuettes  of  this  period  which  we  possess 
may  also  be  English  work.  It  is  in  the  British  Museum, 
and  is  very  large,  being  more  than  fourteen  inches  in 
height.  The  Virgin  is  seated,  and  wears  a long  tunic, 
falling  in  graceful  folds  over  her  feet.  The  veil  which 
covers  her  head  is  larger  than  usual,  and  envelopes  her 
down  to  the  knees.  The  Child  is  naked,  and,  as  He 
half  stands  on  her  lap,  she  supports  Him  with  her  right 
hand,  and  places  her  left  under  her  breast  to  offer  it  to 
Him.  In  the  British  Museum  there  is  a fragment  of 
what  was,  no  doubt,  a charming  figure  of  the  Virgin, 
which  is  of  a different  style  from  any  of  the  foregoing. 
The  hands  are  clasped.  It  was  found  at  Tower  Hill  in 
1856.  Many  of  these  statuettes  are  partly  coloured  and 
gilded.  Some  have  still  the  silver  crowns  belonging  to 
them.  In  others  the  veil  is  partly  cut  away  to  receive 
the  crown,  which  is  missing. 

There  are  four  examples  in  ivory,  supposing  them 
all  to  be  genuine — one  in  the  Louvre,  another  at  Lyon, 
the  third  at  Rouen,  the  fourth  known  as  the  Vierge 
de  Bouboii — of  a very  peculiar  kind  of  statuette  or 
shrine,  which  is  termed  a ''Vierge  ouvraitte!'  These 


IVORIES 

figures  are  so  constructed  that  they  open  down  the 
centre,  forming  two  shutters  or  doors,  which  can  be 
closed  upon  the  central  piece.  Within,  when  opened, 
a variety  of  groups  and  figures  are  sculptured  on  the 
inner  part  of  the  tusk.  These  remarkable  statuettes 
have  been  enormously  written  upon,  especially  by  the 
learned  Pdre  Didron  in  the  Amiales  Archdologiques, 
but  there  would  appear  to  be  some  question  of  their 
authenticity.  However  this  may  be,  it  is  certain  that 
the  fashion  existed  at  an  earlier  date  than  the  four- 
teenth century,  for  in  the  inventory  of  the  church  of 
Notre  Dame  at  Paris  in  1343  "an  image  of  ivory  cut 
down  the  middle  and  sculptured  within  with  images, 
which  used  to  be  placed  on  the  high  altar,”  is  mentioned 
as  being  at  that  time  very  old.  The  fashion  (as  it  may 
be  called)  of  Vierges  ouvrantes  was,  no  doubt,  an  ex- 
tension of  the  diptychs  and  polyptychs  with  folding 
shutters,  which  came  by  degrees ; in  the  first  place,  per- 
haps, through  the  carving  of  the  outside  of  the  shutters. 
There  was  no  end  to  the  ingenuity  of  the  artists  of  those 
days.  Sometimes,  indeed,  it  was  carried  to  extreme, 
and,  in  our  eyes,  irreverent  lengths.  An  extraordinary 
image  of  the  kind  from  the  Bernardine  Abbey  of 
Maubuisson  of  the  thirteenth  century  is  in  the  church 
of  St.  Ouen,  near  Pontoise.  Old  French  inventories 
mention  numbers  of  figures  of  this  class  in  various 
parts  of  the  country.  They  were  in  all  kinds  of 
materials — in  wood,  in  gold,  silver,  crystal,  and  so  on  ; 
and  there  were  other  curiosities  in  the  shape  of  opening 
flowers  and  fruits  enclosing  holy  figures  and  groups. 
Besides  the  Louvre  example,  another,  at  Lyon,  has  been 
mentioned.  Another  is  in  the  museum  at  Rouen,  the 
resemblance  of  both  to  that  in  the  Louvre,  in  the  figures 
and  groups,  and  in  their  arrangement — a few  interest- 
ing differences  apart — is  remarkable.  Whatever  may 
be  the  verdict  with  regard  to  the  genuineness  of  the 
Louvre  figure,  it  cannot  be  denied  that,  if  a forgery,  it  is 
172 


RELIGIOUS  ART  IN  IVORY 

an  extremely  clever  one.  Both  the  composition  and  the 
execution  of  the  groups  in  the  interior  are  admirable. 
The  authenticity  has,  however,  been  doubted,  and  by  no 
less  an  authority  than  M.  Emile  Molinier,  formerly 
keeper  of  the  Louvre  collection.  Of  it  he  says,  in  his 
Histoire  ghidrale  des  Arts,  published  in  1897  (before 
the  discovery  of  the  back  or  central  part  of  the  Boubon 
triptych),  referring  to  these  figures : “ I refuse  to  admit 
for  them  the  least  degree  of  authenticity  ; one  alone, 
a fragment  of  a similar  figure — the  front  portion  of  the 
Vierge  de  Boubon — which  appears  to  be  genuine,  now 
exists,  and  it  is  to  be  supposed  that  it  is  this  or  another 
example  unknown  to-day  which  has  served  as  a model 
to  the  forger,  who  about  the  year  1830  fabricated  the 
two  monsters  of  the  Louvre  and  of  Lyon."  On  the 
other  hand,  Viollet  le  Due,  speaking  of  the  same  figure 
in  the  Louvre,  says  of  it  that  it  is  “ extremely  precious 
on  account  of  the  beauty  of  the  workmanship  ” {Diet, 
dti  niobilier),  and  Labarte  calls  it  a fine  work,  “ un  bel 
ouvrage”  {Hist,  des  arts  indust.).  Didron,  also,  con- 
sidered the  sculpture  to  be  infinitely  superior  to  the 
Vierge  de  Boubon. 

The  subject  of  all  these  figures  need  not  further  be 
considered  here  at  any  length.  With  regard  to  the 
Louvre  example,  it  will  suffice  to  say  that  it  has  now 
been  withdrawn  from  exhibition.  Grave  doubts  have 
also  been  cast  on  those  of  Lyon  and  of  Rouen.  That 
of  Boubon  remains ; and  apart  from  the  undoubted 
merit  of  the  sculpture  itself,  the  story  of  this  important 
piece  is  not  a little  interesting  and  remarkable.  For 
many  of  the  following  details  we  are  indebted  to  several 
communications  made  to  the  Archaeological  Society  of 
Limoges  at  the  time  when  it  still  remained  in  private 
hands  in  that  district,  and  to  the  courtesy  of  M.  Sailly, 
a former  owner. 

The  Vierge  de  Boubon  is  so  called  because  it  be- 
longed to  the  priory  of  Boubon  in  the  Limousin 

173 


IVORIES 

country,  in  the  department  of  Haute-Vienne.  The 
figure  stands  about  eighteen  inches  in  height,  and 
opens  down  the  centre  in  the  manner  which  has  just 
been  described,  forming  in  this  way  a kind  of  triptych. 
The  Virgin,  who  is  seated,  holds  on  her  lap  a quatre- 
foiled  panel  carved  with  a seated  figure  of  our  Lord. 
When  opened,  there  are  within  the  statuette  numerous 
groups  and  single  subjects  covering  the  whole  of  the 
interior,  and  these,  indeed,  correspond  very  closely  with 
those  of  the  three  other  examples  which  have  been 
mentioned.  It  appears  to  have  attracted  little  general 
attention  until  about  the  year  1873,  at  which  time  it 
belonged  to  the  abbe  Hugonneau-Beaufet,  curd  of 
Dournazac,  a village  in  the  vicinity  of  Boubon,  to 
whom  it  had  come  through  his  great  aunt,  who  had 
been  a nun  at  the  priory.  It  was  not,  however,  the 
whole  figure  which  was  in  his  possession,  but  the  front 
portion  only,  forming  a diptych  instead  of  a triptych. 
The  back  and  the  centre  of  the  triptych  when  opened 
had  been  lost  or  had  got  into  other  hands,  and  in  spite 
of  researches  continued  for  many  years  the  abbd  had 
never  succeeded  in  tracing  them.  At  the  time  of  the 
French  Revolution  the  convent  at  Boubon  was  sup- 
pressed. One  of  the  sisterhood — Anne  Hugonneau — 
retired  to  her  brother’s  farm  in  the  neighbouring  hamlet 
of  Saint-Mathieu.  She  took  with  her  the  folding-doors 
of  the  triptych,  and  from  recent  information  we  gather 
that  the  back  and  the  base  of  the  figure  came  at  the 
same  time  into  the  possession  of  a M.  Chaperon,  the 
business  agent  of  the  community.  On  the  death  of 
her  brother  in  1800  Sister  Anne  continued  to  reside  at 
Saint-Mathieu  with  her  nephew,  and,  dying  in  1826, 
bequeathed  the  figure  to  his  son,  afterwards  cure  of 
Dournazac.  It  appears  to  have  been  well  known  to  the 
family  for  many  years,  but  was  treated  with  scant  con- 
sideration, and  in  fact  was  little  more  than  a plaything 
for  the  children — the  Baboia,  or  pottped,  as  they  called 

^74 


plate  X.\.\r/Ii 


TKII'TVCH. 


Vn.:k,;E  OUVKANTE  - OE  BOUkON 

TIlIKrEI-NTIt  CKX-TURV 


RELIGIOUS  ART  IN  IVORY 

it  in  their  Limousin  patois — who  were  accustomed  to 
tie  a string  to  it  and  to  drag  it  about  as  they  would  a 
Dutch  doll.  The  abbe  Beaufet  died  in  1896,  leaving 
the  figure  to  his  eight  nephews  and  nieces  ; but  it  was 
still  a fragment,  consisting  of  the  wings  of  the  triptych 
only.  Meanwhile  it  had  attracted  a certain  amount  of 
attention.  The  opinion  of  the  learned  P^re  Didron 
had  been  asked.  He  considered  it  to  be  inferior  to  the 
Vierge  ouvrante  of  the  Louvre — little  suspecting  the 
obloquy  to  be  later  on  cast  on  this  image — but  of  great 
beauty  and  interest.  He  valued  it  at  twenty  pounds — 
perhaps,  with  good  luck,  at  twice  or  three  times  that 
sum — and  recommended  that  it  should  be  offered  to 
the  museum  at  Kensington.  Whether  this  was  done 
does  not  appear,  but  certainly  our  national  collection  is 
not  placed  in  a position  to  compete  against  such  prices 
as  nowadays  obtain.  What,  however,  is  still  more 
interesting  is  that  about  the  year  1898  the  missing 
portions  were  discovered  in  the  possession  of  a peasant 
at  Saint-Mathieu,  who  gave  them  to  the  mayor  of 
Abjat.  The  story  is  too  long  to  relate  in  detail,  but 
the  honour  of  the  research  and  discovery  must  be  given 
to  M.  le  Baron  de  Verneilh.  At  any  rate,  after  the 
lapse  of  almost  exactly  a hundred  years,  the  frag- 
ments of  the  Vierge  ouvrante  of  Boubon  were  once 
more  united.  The  then  representative  of  the  owners, 
M.  Sailly,  who  was  connected  by  marriage  with  the 
Beaufet  family,  exhibited  the  statuette  at  the  Paris 
Exhibition  of  1900.  It  was  shortly  afterwards  sold 
to  a Paris  dealer  for  ^1,360,  and  the  complete  figure 
was  subsequently  acquired  by  Sir  Thomas  Gibson 
Carmichael,  at  the  sale  of  whose  magnificent  collection 
in  1902  it  was  bought  by  a London  dealer  for  no  less  a 
sum  than  ;;^3,8oo. 

The  importance  of  this  figure  in  relation  to  the 
genuineness  or  otherwise  of  the  similar  ones  in  the 
Louvre  and  elsewhere  is  very  great ; but  the  few 

175 


IVORIES 

remarks  on  this  subject  which  may  arise  will  be  more 
fitly  postponed  to  a succeeding  chapter,  when  the 
question  of  forgeries  in  ivory  generally  will  be  con- 
sidered. Not  less  important  and  interesting  are  those 
involved  in  a consideration  of  the  style  and  execution 
of  the  beautiful  statuette  itself,  and  it  is  with  reluctance 
that  we  yield  to  the  limits  of  our  space,  which  prevent 
our  adding  now  more  than  some  brief  remarks  and 
suggestions.  We  shall  leave  the  subject  with  great 
regret,  for  there  are  few  works  of  the  period  offering  so 
many  points  for  discussion  and  speculation. 

It  will  be  apparent,  from  an  examination  of  the 
illustrations,  that  the  whole  composition  and  treatment 
express  a different  feeling  and  are  of  an  earlier  type 
than  so  many  other  charming  examples  of  French 
work  of  the  thirteenth  century  which  have  been  de- 
scribed. There  is,  in  the  architectural  details,  in  the 
arrangement  and  treatment  and  in  the  attitudes  and 
expressions  of  the  figures,  a reminiscence  of  a severer 
style,  which  recalls  Italian  or  Carlovingian  develop- 
ments. Note,  especially,  the  use  of  the  quatrefoil,  in 
which  our  Lord  is  seated,  and  the  mouldings  which 
frame  the  subjects  within  the  figure,  and  His  attitude 
and  draperies.  The  figure  of  our  Lady  herself  re- 
sembles rather  that  on  the  Berlin  book-cover  (plate  xiv.) 
than  the  smiling  grace  of  the  statuettes  of  the  thirteenth 
and  fourteenth  centuries.  Remark  also  the  wide  limbs 
and  long  upper  arm  of  the  cross,  the  uncontorted  figure 
of  the  Saviour,  and  the  feet  nailed  separately ; the 
somewhat  crude  style  and  execution  of  the  angel’s 
wings  and  of  the  lamb  within  the  small  quatrefoil. 
And,  indeed,  there  are  other  points  requiring  more  than 
a hasty  mention  which  might  be  open  to  misconstruc- 
tion. They  apply,  it  is  true,  to  the  centre  of  the  triptych 
rather  than  to  the  subjects  sculptured  within  the  wings. 
For  all  this,  although  we  might  be  inclined  to  place  the 
date  at  an  earlier  period,  we  should  hesitate  to  say  that 
176 


RELIGIOUS  ART  IN  IVORY 

the  actual  execution  of  the  work  may  not  be  as  late  as 
the  thirteenth  century. 

A very  beautiful  and  affecting  group  at  South  Ken- 
sington is  that  on  a plaque  of  the  fourteenth  century,  in 
which  the  Virgin  is  fainting,  as  beneath  the  cross,  and 
upheld  by  the  holy  women.  All  are  in  long  draperies 
and  veils  of  the  period. 

Another  kind  of  group,  of  which  we  find  some  ex- 
amples, is  that  of  the  favourite  story  of  St.  George  and 
the  Dragon.  The  ivory  is  usually  in  the  form  of  a 
mound,  or  hillock,  on  the  top  of  which  is  a castle.  A 
little  lower  down  the  princess  is  on  her  knees  praying, 
and  at  the  base  St.  George  is  slaying  the  dragon.  The 
whole,  including  the  figures,  is  in  full  relief.  A very 
fine  specimen  of  late  fifteenth-century  work  is  in  the 
Wallace  Museum,  and  a smaller  and  less  well-executed 
one  among  the  Salting  loans  at  South  Kensington.  No 
doubt  the  subject  was  often  repeated. 

Amongst  the  groups  in  ivory,  perhaps  there  are  few 
more  interesting  and  beautiful  than  a very  famous  one 
of  the  thirteenth  century  in  the  Louvre,  which  was  ac- 
quired at  the  sale  of  the  Soltikoff  collection.  It  is  that 
of  the  Coronation  of  the  Virgin,  two  figures  seated. 
The  costumes  are  of  the  time,  and  it  is  supposed,  as 
some  say,  that  the  figures  are  portraits  of  Philip  III., 
son  of  St.  Louis,  and  Mary,  daughter  of  Henry  III. 
The  whole  composition  is  coloured,  and  it  is  curious  to 
note  the  heraldic  emblems  on  the  embroideries  of  the 
garments.  Very  beautiful  and  remarkable  is  the  anatomy 
of  the  hands  of  the  figures,  especially  those  of  our 
Lord.  The  hands  of  the  Virgin  are  a late  restoration 
by  M,  Geoffroy  Dechaulme.  Beside  this  group  are  two 
most  delightful  figures  of  angels,  which  came  to  the 
Louvre  in  1895. 

It  would  seem  to  be  more  than  likely  that  the  two 
principal  figures — our  Lord  in  the  act  of  crowning  the 
Virgin  — must  have  formed  portions  of  a group  to 

N 177 


IVORIES 

which  the  two  angels  belonged,  and  possibly  also  one 
or  more  other  figures.  The  principal  figures  were  ac- 
quired from  Chamb^ry  by  Prince  Soltikoff,  and  from 
his  collection  came  to  the  Louvre.  In  1878  the  town 
of  Chambery  sent  to  the  Paris  Exhibition  of  that  year 
the  two  angels.  The  resemblance  in  style  and  coloura- 
tion was  so  striking  that  an  arrangement  for  an  ex- 
change was  speedily  made,  and  these  figures  were 
added  to  the  Louvre  group.  But  previously  another 
figure  of  a like  character  had  been  exhibited  at  the 
Paris  Exhibition  of  1867,  and  at  that  time  catalogued 
as  “ S.  Joseph,  part  of  a group  of  the  thirteenth 
century.”  This  was  acquired  by  Baron  Gustave  de 
Rothschild,  and  is  now  in  his  collection.  Finally,  in 
the  inventory  of  Charles  V.,  in  1380  a.d.,  is  mentioned, 
“a  coronation  of  our  Lord  at  Nostre  Dame,  of  ivory, 
and  three  little  angels  {angelotz)  of  the  same  sitting  on 
a seat  of  cedar,”  and  this  is  thought  to  be  identical  with 
the  five  figures  referred  to.  It  is  true  we  have  only  two 
angels,  and  the  seat  of  cedar  does  not  correspond ; but 
against  this  it  may  be  said  that  mediaeval  inventories 
were  often  not  very  precise.  In  any  case  the  group, 
such  as  we  have  it  in  the  Louvre,  is  most  charming. 
The  principal  figures  are  seated  on  a slightly  decorated 
bench  without  a back,  the  Virgin,  her  hands  reverently 
joined,  inclined  towards  our  Lord,  who  has  just  placed 
the  crown  on  her  head.  She  wears  a long  robe,  over 
which  is  a flowing  mantle,  and  beneath  the  crown  a 
veil  falls  over  her  shoulders.  Our  Lord’s  crown  is 
similar.  The  whole  of  the  drapery  of  the  costumes  of 
both  figures  is  painted  and  gilded  and  ornamented  with 
a diaper  pattern  in  gold  of  fieurs-de-lys  and  other 
heraldic  decoration,  from  which  it  is  conjectured  that 
they  are  portraits  of  Philip  the  Hardy  and  his  wife, 
Marie  de  Brabant.  The  faces  and  hair  of  both  figures 
are  also  coloured.  The  group  of  two  figures  was  ac- 
quired in  1861  for  the  then  large  price  of  ^1,200.  The 
178 


PLATE  XXXIX  I.  PORTION  OF  GROUP.  CORON-\TION  OF  THE  VIRGIN.  FRENCH 

THIRTEENTH  CENTURY.  (Louvrc) 

2.  GROUP.  GILT  .^NU  COLOURED.  FRENCH 

FOURTEENTH  CENTURY.  {Eensi/t^lon  i\Inseuiii) 


RELIGIOUS  ART  IN  IVORY 

Louvre  possesses  also  several  charming  statuettes  of 
the  Virgin  and  Child  of  the  kind  already  referred  to. 
Amongst  them  there  are  two  extremely  beautiful  ones, 
one  of  the  thirteenth,  another  of  the  fourteenth  century. 
The  first  bears  numerous  traces  of  coloured  and  gilt 
ornaments.  The  other  is  very  large,  coloured  and  gilt, 
and  mounted  on  a base  of  silver  gilt  enamelled  with  the 
arms  of  France.  On  the  breast  of  the  Child  is  an  agate 
cameo,  the  Virgin’s  crown  is  set  with  pearls  and  precious 
stones,  and  on  her  breast  is  an  emerald.  From  old 
inventories  it  would  appear  certain  that  it  belonged  to 
St.  Louis,  and  was  formerly  in  the  Sainte  Chapelle. 

By  the  side  of  the  Louvre  group  we  may  very  well 
place  another  small  group  of  two  figures  in  the  museum 
at  Kensington.  It  is  again  the  Coronation.  Our  Lord 
is  seated,  and  crowns  the  Virgin,  who  is  seated  near 
Him.  The  faces  of  the  figures  are  coloured,  the  re- 
mainder is  entirely  gilt.  It  is  French,  of  the  fourteenth 
century.  In  both  these  groups  the  treatment  differs 
from  the  usual  feeling  of  the  period.  They  are  elegant 
and  refined  ; not  wanting  in  idealism,  and  yet  there  is 
hardly  present  the  same  kind  of  reverential,  devotional 
feeling.  One  does  not  seem  to  forget  what  has  been 
suggested — and  possibly  the  same  train  of  thought  en- 
gendered the  suggestion — that  there  was  perhaps  in  the 
case  of  the  Louvre  group  a courtly  purpose  also  to  be 
fulfilled.  It  must  be  added  also  that  not  invariably  in 
the  groups  in  which  the  mother  and  Child  appear  do  we 
find  the  same  idealised  simplicity.  In  a few,  it  is  true, 
there  is  an  air,  on  the  other  hand,  too  much  of  the  fine 
lady,  a simpering  expression,  or  even  an  absolute  bold- 
ness amounting  almost  to  effrontery.  With  regard  to 
the  colouring  of  these  groups  and  other  ivory  carvings, 
this  is  a practice  in  art  as  to  which  much  may  be  said  for 
and  against.  The  difficulties  are  manifold,  and  there  is 
always  danger  of  vulgarity.  In  thediptychs  and  statuettes, 
however,  which  have  been  described,  surely  the  artist  has 

179 


IVORIES 

worked  with  discretion,  and  it  would  be  difficult  to  find 
fault ; and  after  all,  as  a rule,  it  has  been  simply  a question 
of  accentuation,  a touch  here  and  there,  a bordering  of  a 
garment,  a gilding  of  the  hair,  an  added  brightness  to 
the  general  effect.  We  shall  have  occasion,  however,  to 
consider  this  question  later  on,  when  we  come  to  quite 
modern  times.  Meantime,  mention  may  be  made  of 
a beautiful  miniature  diptych  in  the  Wallace  collec- 
tion. It  is  Flemish,  of  the  fifteenth  century,  each  leaf 
measuring  scarcely  two  inches  square.  It  is  entirely 
coloured,  so  that  no  trace  of  the  ivory  appears.  On 
one  leaf  is  the  dorniition  of  the  Virgin,  and  it  is  in- 
teresting to  compare  the  treatment  of  this  subject  with 
the  conventional  manner  already  described.  On  the 
other  we  have  the  crucifixion,  and  here  we  may  remark 
a not  uncommon  detail.  The  souls  of  the  thieves  are 
represented  by  two  tiny  cherubs,  one  of  which  is 
received  by  an  angel. 

The  descent  from  the  cross,  apart  from  its  religious 
signification,  is  a subject  which  would  naturally  suggest 
itself  to  the  mind  of  an  artist  as  one  demanding  a high 
exercise  of  skill,  not  alone  in  the  disposition  of  the  figures, 
but  also  in  the  individual  treatment  of  the  action  of  the 
personages  bearing  the  sacred  burden.  That  is  to  say, 
that  we  are  confronted  with  the  problem  of  adequately 
representing  with  truth  to  anatomical  detail  the  figures 
both  of  those  engaged  in  lowering  with  reverence  and 
tender  care  the  weight  of  an  inert  human  body,  and  of 
that  body  itself.  It  is  a subject  also  which  an  artist 
would  not  shrink  from  expressing  in  a more  dramatic 
manner  than  the  great  event  of  which  it  was  the  necessary 
sequel,  and  he  is  aided  in  such  dramatic  expression  by 
the  number  of  actors  which  he  is  able  to  introduce  into 
the  scene.  For  the  Holy  Scriptures  themselves  are  his 
warrant  for  two  at  least  who  are  mentioned  by  name — 
Joseph  of  Arimathaea,  who  is  generally  associated  with 
the  actual  reception  of  the  Lord’s  body,  and  Nicodemus, 


RELIGIOUS  ART  IN  IVORY 

who  brought  myrrh  and  aloes,  and  wound  it  in  linen 
clothes  with  the  spices.  There  are  mentioned  also  the 
holy  women  ; and  St.  John  himself,  who  has  given  us 
the  most  complete  record  of  the  event,  is  rarely,  if  ever, 
absent  from  the  representations  which  have  come  down 
to  us.  Other  persons  are  also  frequently  introduced, 
and  tradition  in  time  assigned  to  them  their  several 
duties ; for  example,  it  is  Nicodemus  who  removes  the 
nails,  and  there  are  others  whose  identity  is  not  perhaps 
always  easy  to  verify,  but  who  from  their  positions,  or 
from  being  usually  engaged  in  the  same  action,  have, 
in  the  course  of  time,  become  definitely  named. 

It  is  not  surprising,  then,  that  the  subject  of  the 
Deposition  should  frequently  occur  amongst  our  ivories. 
Examples  are  numerous  in  Byzantine  and  Western 
panels  of  the  tenth,  eleventh,  and  twelfth  centuries,  and 
are  no  less  frequent  in  the  diptychs,  triptychs,  and  caskets 
of  the  gothic  period.  The  earliest  which  we  know  is  a 
Byzantine  panel  of  the  tenth  century  in  the  treasury  of 
the  cathedral  at  Hildesheim. 

Our  space  will  not  permit  our  discussing  in  detail 
the  earlier  examples,  but  it  would  be  impossible  to  pass 
by  the  beautiful  and  touching  group  of  four  figures  in 
the  museum  of  the  Louvre.  It  is  French  work  of  the 
thirteenth  century,  and  has  formed  part  of  some  larger 
composition,  in  which  the  cross  itself  probably  figured, 
and  many  other  of  the  actors  in  the  scene  {Frontispiece). 

Joseph  of  Arimathaea,  bending  forward  under  his 
burden,  but  the  head  raised  and  his  gaze  turned  up- 
wards with  an  expression  of  tender  solicitude,  bears 
hanging  over  his  left  shoulder,  and  advancing  with 
steady  steps,  the  body  of  our  Lord,  which  has  just  been 
taken  down  from  the  cross.  The  head  of  the  sacred 
figure  hangs  downward  over  the  back  of  Joseph,  who 
clasps  the  lower  half  of  the  body  in  front  of  him.  One 
emaciated  arm  droops  pendant,  the  other  is  seized  by  the 
second  figure  of  the  group,  in  whom  we  may  recognise, 

i8i 


IVORIES 

perhaps,  one  of  the  three  Marys,  who  bends  over  the 
hand  to  imprint  a kiss  upon  it.  Of  this  figure  alone, 
in  the  attitude,  in  the  expression  of  the  face,  the  long, 
clinging  draperies  of  marvellous  elegance  in  the  dis- 
position of  the  folds,  in  the  tenderness  with  which  she 
receives  the  hand,  and  the  delicacy  with  which  she  raises 
a fold  of  her  robe  to  cover  it  while  she  gazes  on  it  with 
the  utmost  reverence  and  pity,  all  is  incomparable,  even 
in  the  figure  work  of  this  incomparable  period  of  art. 

Joseph  himself  wears  a double  garment,  the  under 
robe  having  a kind  of  tight-fitting  sleeve  to  the  wrists, 
above  it  a tunic  with  large,  full  sleeves,  and  an  upper 
garment  tied  or  knotted  round  the  waist,  in  order  to 
give  more  freedom  in  the  execution  of  his  task.  The 
head  of  the  Saviour  Himself,  bearded,  and  with  long 
hair  parted  in  the  middle,  the  eyes  closed  in  death,  calm 
and  serene  as  is  the  expression  of  those  who  have  suffered 
even  the  most  violent  death,  though  the  holy  face  bears 
the  marks  of  the  injuries  which  had  been  inflicted,  is 
admirable  in  its  realism,  and  yet  the  realism  is  of  a kind 
which  has  no  taint  of  horror  in  detail,  and  in  its  restraint 
is  entirely  reverential.  Nor  could  anything  be  finer  than 
the  lower  limbs,  the  feet  drawn  out  and  fixedly  pendent 
from  the  treatment  to  which  they  had  been  subjected, 
crossed  as  they  were  crossed  upon  the  cross,  and  showing 
the  wounds  of  the  nail  which  had  transfixed  them.  The 
drapery  is  long  and  full,  from  the  waist  to  the  knees. 
Unfortunately,  the  left  forearm  has  been  broken  off,  and 
is  wanting,  and  through  this  loss  we  miss  a great  deal, 
for  it  would  be  difficult  to  reconstruct  the  doubtless 
equally  admirable  manner  in  which  the  artist  had  com- 
pleted the  pose  of  the  figure. 

Reference  has  been  made  to  an  early  example  of  the 
same  subject.  Another  beautiful  and  remarkable  Byzan- 
tine plaque  of  the  tenth  century  was  formerly  in  the 
Spitzer  collection.  The  manner  in  which  a similar  style 
of  treatment  in  the  attitudes — it  is  not  too  much  to  say 
182 


RELIGIOUS  ART  IN  IVORY 


even  in  the  expression  of  the  figures — has  been  carried 
on  and  preserved  during  so  long  a lapse  of  time,  is  very 
striking.  Comparing  the  Spitzer  plaque  with  the  group 
just  described,  we  find  Joseph  of  Arimathaea  in  the  same 
position,  advancing,  or  one  foot  raised,  and  looking  up- 
wards, though  in  the  first  he  holds  the  body  of  the  Saviour 
lower  down,  and  His  head  rests  on  his  own.  The  holy 
woman  receives  and  kisses  the  hand  in  the  same  way, 
covering  her  own  with  her  robe.  St.  John  stands  by. 
The  whole  is  beneath  an  open-worked  canopy  such  as  that 
with  the  Death  of  the  Virgin  (page  1 13).  Nicodemus  is 
in  the  act  of  extracting  the  nail  from  the  feet.  Probably 
it  is  his  figure  which  is  wanting  in  the  thirteenth-century 
group. 

The  Louvre  group  may  fittingly  be  placed  in  the 
same  category  as  the  group  of  the  Coronation,  already 
described,  and  as  the  work  of  southern  France  or  northern 
Italy,  to  which  the  existence  of  a few,  unfortunately  but 
few,  other  examples  of  a similar  character — for  the  most 
part  elaborately  painted  and  gilt — would  lead  us  to  sup- 
pose that  much  fine  work  of  the  kind  now  lost  must  have 
been  executed  in  the  thirteenth  and  fourteenth  centuries. 
Attention  may  be  directed  to  the  very  fine  group  of  the 
Annunciation  (two  figures,  the  Virgin  and  the  angel)  in 
the  museum  at  Langres,  and  the  statuette  of  the  Virgin 
at  Villeneuve-lez-Avignon. 

Of  the  fifteenth  century  a small  round  plaque  of 
Flemish  work,  recently  added  to  the  collection  at  Ken- 
sington, must  be  noticed.  The  subject  is  the  taking 
down  from  the  cross,  and  it  is  an  extraordinary  piece 
of  minute  carving  in  relief  and  pierced  work  upon  a 
coloured  background.  In  the  small  space  the  figures 
are  numerous,  the  expressions  on  the  tiny  faces  well 
cared  for  and  perfectly  distinguishable,  the  composition 
excellent,  and  altogether  it  is  a very  interesting  specimen 
of  this  period  of  transition. 

We  shall  now  go  back  some  centuries  to  notice 

183 


IVORIES 

an  adjunct  to  the  church  services,  of  which  some  fine 
examples  exist  of  the  tenth  to  twelfth  centuries.  In 
many  ways  they  are  entitled  to  more  attention  than  we 
are  here  able  to  give  to  them.  They  are  the  situlce, 
or  buckets  for  holy  water,  used  in  the  ceremonial 
sprinkling  of  persons  and  things  in  the  services  of  the 
church.  The  shape  of  a tusk  would  appear  to  naturally 
suggest  itself  as  appropriate  for  such  a vessel.  One  of 
the  finest  is  that  known  as  the  situla  of  Charlemagne, 
of  the  tenth  to  twelfth  century,  in  the  cathedral  of  Aix- 
la-Chapelle.  It  is  bound  in  gold,  ornamented  with 
precious  stones,  and  carved  with  figures  of  an  emperor, 
bishops,  and  archbishops,  and  other  attendants.  The 
ecclesiastical  costumes  are,  of  course,  very  interesting. 
Another  is  preserved  in  the  treasury  of  the  cathedral  of 
Lyon,  and  another,  of  the  tenth  century,  in  the  cathedral 
at  Milan.  The  latter  is  inscribed,  amongst  other  in- 
scriptions, with  die  following:  “Vates  Ambrosi  Got- 
fredus  Dat  tibi  See  Vas  veniente  sacra  spargendu  cesare 
LyphT”  There  was  a Gotfredus  archbishop  of  Milan 
in  973,  and  another  of  the  same  name  in  1073,  and  the 
inscription,  of  course,  puts  beyond  all  question  the  use 
of  the  situla. 

A curious  liturgical  accessory,  of  which  the  rare 
examples  in  ivory  which  exist  are  very  beautiful,  is 
the  Jiabelluni,  or  fan.  Its  primary  use,  originating 
in  and  necessitated  by  the  requirements  of  the  less 
temperate  climates  of  eastern  countries,  was  to  keep 
away  flies  and  insects  from  the  ministers  of  the  altar, 
and  especially  from  the  neighbourhood  of  the  sacrament 
itself.  In  later  times  its  use  spread  to  the  west,  and 
symbolical  meanings  and  a more  sacred  character  be- 
came attached  to  it,  as,  in  fact,  was  the  case  with  other 
accessories  for  liturgical  use,  for  which  a perfect  rage 
seemed  to  exist  in  discovering  and  adapting  symbolism. 

The  use  of  the  fan  can  be  traced  to  a very  early  age. 
In  the  liturgy  of  St.  James  two  deacons  are  directed  to 
184 


RELIGIOUS  ART  IN  IVORY 

hold  fans  of  linen  tissue  or  peacocks’  feathers  on  each 
side  of  the  altar  to  drive  away  insects.  We  find  it 
also  often  mentioned  in  inventories.  For  instance,  in 
one  taken  at  St.  Riquier,  near  Abbeville,  “a  silver 
flabellum  for  driving  away  flies  from  the  Eucharist  ” ; 
another,  at  Amiens,  of  silk  and  gold,  given  by  a canon 
about  A.D.  1250.  In  an  inventory  at  Salisbury,  a.d. 
1314,  are  two  flabella  of  silk  and  parchment ; also  at 
St.  Faith’s,  in  a.d.  1298,  one  of  peacocks’  feathers;  at 
Rochester,  in  a.d.  1346,  one  of  silk  with  an  ivory  handle  ; 
in  the  chapel  of  William  Exeter,  abbot  of  Bury  St. 
Edmunds,  a.d.  1429,  “one  muscifugium  de  pecok,”  and 
even  as  late  as  the  year  1493  the  churchwardens  of  Wal- 
berswick  make  a payment  for  “a  bessume  of  pekoks 
fethers  iv.d.”  Illuminations  and  miniatures  show  us 
these  things  in  use,  and  they  appear  usually  to  be  of 
the  kind  which  expands  into  a circular  shape,  and  can 
be  shut  up  in  a tube  or  case.  Of  course,  the  handles 
were  often  long,  but  we  must  be  careful  not  to  assume 
that  all  ivory  handles  of  a similar  character  are  flabellum 
handles.  Holy-water  sprinklers  used  at  the  asperges, 
no  doubt,  had  often  also  handles  of  ivory,  and  there  are 
other  things  for  which  they  may  have  been  used,  for 
instance,  for  cantors’  staves.  There  is  a very  beautiful 
example  at  Kensington — Carlovingian,  probably  south 
of  France  workmanship  of  the  twelfth  century — that 
is  to  say,  that  half  of  it  is  here,  the  other  half,  or  at 
any  rate  a fragment  very  nearly  resembling  it,  in  the 
British  Museum.  The  whole  would  have  been  about 
a foot  long,  very  delicately  carved  in  six  compartments, 
divided  by  bands,  ornamented  with  small  round  beads. 
The  subjects,  in  high  relief,  are  numerous  fabulous 
animals,  and  birds  and  beasts,  and  some  human  figures, 
a centaur,  monkeys,  wild  boars,  dragons,  and  griffins. 
A monkey,  especially,  scratching  his  head  with  one  paw 
and  picking  up  nuts  with  the  other,  is  very  delightful. 
There  are  a few  others  of  about  the  same  date,  mostly 

18S 


IVORIES 

ascribed  to  the  south  of  France,  carved  in  bands  or 
compartments,  sometimes  with  pastoral  scenes,  or  even 
classical  subjects,  at  others  with  beasts  and  birds  and 
foliage,  or,  as  in  another  example  in  the  British  Museum, 
with  pictures  describing  the  twelve  months  of  the  year. 
The  last  was  a favourite  subject  with  mediaeval  artists, 
who  connected  it  with  man’s  life  and  decline  on  earth. 
Or,  again,  as  in  the  flabellum  of  the  abbey  of  Tournus, 
there  is  a variety  of  decoration,  full-length  figures  of 
saints — in  this  case  the  Virgin,  St.  Peter,  St.  Agnathus, 
and  St.  Filibertus — and  an  inscription,  “Johelmescae 
FECIT  IN  HONORE  MARi^.  ’ This  flabelluiii  is  described 
at  length  in  the  travels  of  the  two  Benedictines,  who 
mention  that  there  is  a similar  one  in  the  monastery 
of  Prouille,  in  the  diocese  of  Toulouse.  A handle  of 
a flabellum  in  the  Salting  collection,  on  loan  at  South 
Kensington,  has  four  flat  sides,  on  each  of  which  are 
three  niches  surmounted  by  crocheted  arches  with, 
beneath,  a figure  of  a saint.  It  is  French  work  of  the 
fourteenth  century. 

An  important  part  of  the  furniture  of  the  altar,  which 
has  now  almost  entirely  dropped  out  of  use  in  England, 
though  the  practice  is  still  maintained  in  many  parts  of 
the  Continent,  is  the  pax.  This  is  a plaque  of  metal, 
wood,  or  ivory,  decorated  with  a sacred  subject,  used 
for  transmitting  the  kiss  of  peace,  instead  of  the  ancient 
and  now  more  usual  practice  of  mutual  salutation.  It 
was  kissed  first  by  the  celebrant,  deacon,  and  sub-deacon, 
and  other  subordinate  ministers,  and  then  carried  round 
by  an  acolyte  to  the  laity.  There  are  many  very  beautiful 
ones  in  silver  and  enamel,  or  in  other  precious  material, 
in  wood  and  glass,  in  existence,  and  the  usual  form  is 
a plaque  with  a handle  at  the  back,  which  formed  a 
rest  for  it  to  stand  in  its  place  on  the  gospel  side  of  the 
altar.  MV  learn  from  Maskell’s  Liturgies  that 

in  the  Sarum  missal,  “diaconus  pacem  recipiat,”  the 
deacon  receives  the  pax.  “ The  introduction  of  the  pax 


RELIGIOUS  ART  IN  IVORY 

instead  of  the  old  practice  of  mutual  salutation  was  not 
until  about  the  thirteenth  century.  In  a council  held 
at  York,  in  the  year  1250,  under  Walter  Gray,  arch- 
bishop, the  earliest  mention  occurs  of  the  pax,  or  oscu- 
latorium,  as  used  in  England.  It  is  named  amongst 
the  ornaments  and  furniture  of  the  altar  which  were  to 
be  provided  by  the  parishioners.  In  many  of  the  printed 
editions  of  the  Sarum  missal  it  is  represented  as  part 
of  the  furniture  of  the  altar  in  the  woodcut  which  com- 
monly precedes  the  service  for  Advent  Sunday  ” [A ncient 
Liturgies,  page  1 16).  The  practice  appears  first  to  have 
fallen  into  disuse  in  England  owing  to  quarrels  relating 
to  precedency  in  the  order  of  its  transmission  to  the 
people.  Chaucer,  in  the  Parson’s  tale,  tells  us  of  the 
“ proud  man  who  awaited  to  sit  or  to  kisse  paxe  or  be 
encenced  before  his  neighbour.”  Those  familiar  with 
Shakespeare  will  not  have  forgotten  that  “ Bardolph 
hath  stolen  a pax,  and  hang’d  must  a be.”  Sometimes 
the  splendid  coverings  of  brooks  were  used  as  paxes,  as 
at  Durham,  where  there  was  “a  marvelous  Faire  Book 
which  had  the  epistles  and  gospels  in  it.  The  which 
book  had  on  the  outside  of  the  coveringe  the  picture  of 
our  Saviour  Christe  all  of  silver,  which  booke  did  serve 
for  the  paxe  in  the  masse.”  It  is  said  that  a Carlovingian 
ivory  plaque  of  the  ninth  century,  fixed  on  the  cover  of 
the  gospels  in  the  cathedral  of  Tongres,  is  used  as  a 
pax,  and  kissed  by  the  canons,  after  the  gospels,  with 
the  words,  “Ecce  lex  sacra”;  but  this  would  hardly  b6 
the  proper  time  for  the  use  of  the  pax,  and  is  rather 
an  extension  of  the  kissing  of  the  book  by  the  officiating 
priest.  And  even  under  the  new  church  regime  the 
pax  was  not  abolished,  but  adapted,  for  in  one  of  the 
injunctions  issued  by  the  king’s  visitors  to  the  clergy 
within  the  deanery  of  Doncaster,  in  the  first  year  of 
Edward  VI.,  “ the  clerk  was  ordered  at  the  proper 
time  to  bring  down  the  pax,  and  standing  without  the 
church  door  to  say  these  words  aloud  to  the  people, 

187 


IVORIES 

‘ This  is  a token  of  joyful  peace  which  is  betwixt  God 
and  men’s  conscience.’”  The  inventor)'  of  the  parish 
church  of  Send,  in  Surrey,  taken  in  the  sixth  year  of 
Edward  \T.  (a.d.  1552),  records  “ a paxe  of  ivory.”  The 
church  at  Send  is  very  small,  but  the  parish  appears  to 
have  possessed  at  that  time  a large  quantity  of  rich 
vestments  and  altar  plate.  In  England  the  custom  still 
obtains,  at  least  in  some  monastic  churches,  for  the 
writer  remembers  the  use  of  a beautiful  enamelled  one, 
in  late  years,  in  the  abbey  church  of  Downside,  near 
Bath,  and  its  being  placed  upon  the  altar  according  to 
ancient  usage.  Ivor)’  paxes  are  not  ver)’  common,  but 
there  are  several  in  the  Kensington  Museum,  of  the 
shape  which  was  most  usual,  that  is  to  say,  with  the 
natural  curvature  of  the  tusk.  They  are  of  the  four- 
teenth and  fifteenth  centuries.  The  subjects  with  which 
they  are  decorated  vary.  St.  George  and  the  Dragon 
would  appear  to  have  been  a favourite  one,  though  the 
Crucifixion  is,  of  course,  the  most  appropriate.  The 
pax  of  the  eighth  century  at  Cividale  in  Friuli,  with 
the  subject  of  the  crucifixion,  is  referred  to  later  on.  If 
it  is  a pax,  it  must  be  the  earliest  in  existence. 

Some  reference  may  now  be  made  to  rosary  beads,  for 
which  ivor)’  would  naturally  suggest  itself  as  a material, 
and  also  to  the  curious  devotional  objects  in  the  shape  of 
deaths'  heads,  known  as  memento  mori;  but  as  examples 
are  more  numerous  in  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth 
centuries,  we  may  postpone  the  general  consideration 
till  later  on.  A curious  boss,  or  terminating  bead  of  a 
rosar)’,  German  of  the  fifteenth  centur)*,  in  the  museum 
at  Kensington,  may  be  noticed  here.  It  is  large — two 
inches  in  diameter — and  consists  of  four  half  figures 
placed  back  to  back.  One  is  a man  in  the  costume  of 
the  time  with  a cup  in  his  hand,  and  beneath  is  inscribed, 
“Amor  mundi.”  In  the  next  he  is  dying,  the  mouth 
open,  gasping  for  breath,  and  under  him  “ Vado  mori.” 
In  the  third  he  is  in  a shroud,  with  horrifying  details, 
188 


« 

1 


PLATE  XL 


JliSCELLAXEOUS  SMALL  IVORIES 

KCJUKTEEXTH  TO  SIXTEENTH  CENTURIES 


X,  8.  MEMENTO  MORI. 


3.  GROUl’,  FLEMISH. 


5.  FLABELLUM  H.ANDLE.  7.  FLEMISH  MINIATURE  WORK: 


RELIGIOUS  ART  IN  IVORY 

and  “ Sequere  me.”  And  the  fourth  is  a skeleton  with 
an  hour-glass,  worms  crawling  in  and  out  of  the  sockets 
of  the  eyes,  and  the  inscription  beneath,  “ Ego  sum.” 

Ivory  horns  appear  frequently  amongst  precious 
objects  given  to  churches.  They  are  mentioned  in 
several  inventories  and,  in  illuminated  manuscripts, 
they  are  represented  as  suspended  in  the  church.  Per- 
haps in  country  districts  they  served  to  call  to  prayers. 
They  were  also  used  as  receptacles  for  relics.  About 
1060  A.D.  Bishop  Leofric  presented  four  ivory  horns  to 
Exeter  Cathedral. 

There  are  two  or  three  interesting  specimens  of 
small  writing  tablets  decorated  with  religious  subjects 
in  the  Kensington  Museum,  all  French,  of  the  four- 
teenth century.  The  first  has,  between  the  decorated 
outer  covers,  six  separate  leaves  which  have  been 
slightly  hollowed  for  wax,  but  afterwards  painted  very 
delicately  in  colours  and  gold  in  the  style  of  con- 
temporary MSS.  The  covers  are  carved  with  subjects 
under  canopies  of  plain  pointed  arches,  and  have  also 
been  coloured  and  gilded.  On  one  cover  are  St. 
Laurence  in  his  dalmatic  holding  a gridiron,  and  a 
bishop  fully  vested  ; on  the  other,  the  coronation  of  the 
Virgin.  The  second  set  of  tablets  still  contains  the 
green  wax,  prepared  for  writing,  on  the  six  leaves  of 
which  it  is  composed,  and  the  covers  are  carved  with 
three  subjects  under  gothic  canopies. 

A brief  reference,  at  least,  should  be  made  to  the 
cofanetto,  or  casket,  in  the  Prato  at  Florence,  in  which 
the  holy  cingolo,  the  girdle  of  the  Virgin,  has  been  pre- 
served for  centuries.  The  groups  of  winged  cherubs, 
in  ivory,  which  surround  it,  dancing  and  blearing  what 
seem  to  be  portions  of  the  girdle,  are  said  to  have  been 
restored  in  Donatello’s  time.  However  this  may  be, 
they  are  very  poor  in  style  and  execution. 

We  cannot  leave  this  part  of  our  subject  without 
referring  once  more  to  the  probability  that  in  our  search 

189 


IVORIES 

for  the  artists  who  designed  and  executed  many  of  the 
beautiful  works  which  have  been  described,  we  should 
find  them  amongst  those  who  had  devoted  their  lives  to 
the  service  of  the  religion  which  is  thus  nobly  illustrated. 
The  conjecture  can  hardly  be  far  wrong  which  ascribes 
them  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  monasteries  and  convents 
throughout  western  Europe.  Probably  in  many  in- 
stances they  were  the  work  of  nuns.  An  illumination 
in  a French  MS.  of  the  fifteenth  century  shows  us  a lady 
engaged  in  painting  a statuette,  her  palette  and  brushes 
lying  beside  her,  and  other  objects  near  by,  ready  to  be 
proceeded  with.  There  is  no  doubt  that  nuns  were 
especially  skilled  in  the  transcription  and  illumination 
of  MSS.  M.  de  Montalembert  tells  us  in  his  Monks  of 
the  West,  quoting  from  numerous  writers  of  the  times 
alluded  to,  that  “it  can  never  be  known  how  many  ser- 
vices to  learning  and  history  were  rendered  by  their 
delicate  hands.  They  brought  to  their  work  a dexterity, 
an  excellence,  and  an  assiduity  which  the  monks  them- 
selves could  not  attain,  and  we  owe  to  them  some  of  the 
most  beautiful  specimens  of  the  marvellous  calligraphy 
of  the  period.”  Can  it  be  reasonably  supposed  that  they 
should  not  also  have  applied  themselves  to  such  appro- 
priate and  elegant  work  as  small  sculpture  ? 

The  chronicles  of  monasteries  such  as  those  of  St. 
Gall,  of  Cluny,  or  of  Monte  Cassino  (of  the  latter 
especially),  abound  in  references  to  the  work  of  their 
monks,  in  chasing  and  setting,  besides  calligraphy,  and 
we  know  that  they  were  not  only  the  architects,  but  the 
actual  builders  and  carvers  of  the  splendid  cathedrals 
which  adorned  every  land.  At  Monte  Cassino,  as  we 
learn  from  its  chronicles  {Leo  Ostiensis,  Chron.  Cassinens, 
book  iii.),  great  works  were  carried  out  in  painting, 
embroidery,  carvings  in  wood  and  ivory,  and  gold  and 
silversmiths’ work,  and  we  are  told  that  they  were  executed 
there  also  by  Byzantine  and  Moorish  artists.  Nor  can 
we  imagine  that  the  monks  of  our  great  English  abbeys 
190 


RELIGIOUS  ART  IN  IVORY 

of  Netley,  of  Croyland,  of  Evesham,  or  of  Fountains, 
were  not  employed  in  a similar  manner,  and  we  must 
believe  that  from  their  hands  proceeded  the  work  of  the 
splendid  shrines.  The  monk  Tutilo,  already  alluded  to, 
seems  to  have  been  a universal  genius — architect,  painter, 
organ-builder  and  organist,  and,  withal,  a theologian, 
''valde  eloqiiens','  a great  preacher.  Once  more,  amongst 
Englishmen,  the  abbot  of  Evesham,  Mannius  (eleventh 
century),  is  mentioned  as  skilled  in  the  arts,  particularly 
in  goldsmith’s  work,  and  Matthew  Paris,  in  his  Life  of 
St.  Alban,  tells  us  of  Anketil  “ monachus  et  aurifaber 
incomparabilis,”  who  made  the  splendid  shrine  at  St. 
Albans  for  the  relics  of  its  saint  and  patron.  References 
might  be  multiplied  almost  indefinitely.  Enough  has 
been  said  to  justify  the  inference  that  although  in  the 
later  middle  ages  secular  guilds  existed  whose  statutes 
show  that  ivory  carving  was  amongst  them  an  honoured 
craft,  still  it  is  perhaps  to  unknown  monks  and  nuns 
that  we  owe  the  best  and  greater  part  of  the  religious 
carvings  which  have  come  down  to  us. 

Finally,  the  rule  of  St.  Benedict  expressly  enjoins 
the  education  in  and  practice  of  arts  of  all  kinds  in  his 
monasteries.  In  accordance  therewith  they  became  fur- 
nished, not  only  with  schools  and  libraries,  but  with 
studios  where  painting  and  sculpture,  goldsmith’s  work 
and  bookbinding  were  carried  out.  Very  important 
indeed,  and  indicative  of  the  reason  why  there  is  almost 
utter  default  of  the  names  of  artists,  is  the  fifty-seventh 
chapter  of  the  Rule,  which  may  be  quoted  at  length. 
It  says : — 

“If  there  be  artists  in  the  monastery,  let  them  exercise  their  crafts 
with  all  humility  and  reverence,  provided  the  abbot  shall  have  ordered 
them.  But  if  any  of  them  be  proud  of  the  skill  he  hath  in  his  craft, 
because  he  thereby  seemeth  to  gain  something  for  the  monastery,  let 
him  be  removed  from  it  and  not  exercise  it  again,  unless,  after  humbling 
himself,  the  abbot  shall  permit  him.” 


191 


CHAPTER  IX 


PASTORAL  STAVES  AND  LITURGICAL  COMBS 
HERE  are  two  important  liturgical  accessories 


in  which  ivory  carving  at  its  best  times  has 


played  an  interesting  and  prominent  part.  They 
are  first  the  pastoral  staff,  or  crosier,*  of  the  bishop,  and 
next  the  liturgical  comb,  used  principally  in  the  episcopal 
ceremonies,  but  also  by  minor  ecclesiastics. 

In  all  ages  it  has  been  customary  for  rulers  of 
nations  and  for  certain  high  dignitaries  to  carry  a staff, 
or  wand,  or  in  the  case  of  potentates  a sceptre,  as  an 
emblem  of  their  authority  and  power.  The  staff  of  the 
earliest  ecclesiastical  dignitaries,  which  by  a process  of 
evolution  developed  into  the  bishop’s  crook  with  its 
appropriate  symbolical  meaning  is,  amongst  ivory  carv- 
ings, one  of  the  most  beautiful  of  all  the  liturgical 
accessories  with  which  we  are  concerned. 

The  most  ancient  form  of  bishop’s  staff  which  we 
find  in  early  representations  is  that  with  a short  handle 
and  a plain  boss  or  oval  knob  at  the  top,  or  bent  aside 

* The  term  crosier  is  used  for  the  crook-shaped  staff,  although  the  objec- 
tion is  often  made  that  it  is  incorrect.  It  is  here,  however,  deliberately  main- 
tained, amongst  other  reasons,  because  it  is  more  familiar  and  more  expressive. 
The  term  \vould  appear  to  go  back  to  the  eleventh  century.  In  a charter  of 
1086  A.D.  there  is  mention  “de  baculis  abbatis  qui  crocia  dicitur.”  And  it  is 
called  the  bishop’s  cross  in  the  dialogue  between  Dives  and  Pauper,  to  which 
allusion  will  presently  be  made.  In  French  the  term  is  baton  pastoral,  but  more 
colloquially  crosse,  and  in  some  parts  of  France  the  shepherd’s  crook  is  also  a 
Crosse.  An  archbishop’s  cross  is  borne  before  him,  but  he  carries  his  crosier. 
(See  also  “ Origities  et  raisons  de  la  liturgie  CatholiqueP  by  the  Abbe  Pascal.) 


PASTORAL  STAVES 

like  a walking-stick.  In  fact,  it  is  more  than  likely  that 
the  bishop’s  staff  was  at  first  nothing  more  than  the 
ordinary  staff  or  stick  of  domestic  use.  We  have  next 
the  form  to  which  the  name  of  tau  has  been  given,  from 
the  Greek  letter  t,  that  is  to  say,  a transverse  bar  on  the 
top,  the  ends  of  which  became  curved  in  some  cases,  or 
at  least  the  ornamentation  upon  them  assumed  such 
curves.  There  is  no  great  variation  in  the  shape  of 
taus,  of  which  we  have  several  beautiful  examples  in 
ivory,  and  in  metal  and  other  material  they  are  not  un- 
common (especially  in  the  east),  and  equally  beautiful. 

The  crook,  or  crosier,  presents  several  varieties,  some- 
times in  the  earlier  times  having  an  affinity  with  the 
tau,  or  with  the  lituus  of  the  Roman  augurs,  some- 
times simply  bent  aside  at  the  top,  or  extended  hori- 
zontally from  the  staff  itself,  sometimes  with  a double 
crook  one  at  each  side.  With  these  must  be  included 
the  more  sceptre-like  rod  or  staff  which  we  see  frequently 
represented  on  our  ivories,  either  in  the  hand  of  our 
Lord,  or  carried  by  an  archbishop,  down  to  at  least  the 
fifteenth  century.  In  course  of  time  the  pastoral  staff 
of  a bishop  assumed  the  more  regular  form  of  a shepherd’s 
crook,  and  it  is  not  difficult  to  understand  how  the  elegant 
shape  of  the  volute  would  have  been  eagerly  seized  upon 
by  the  artistic  designers  of  these  staffs,  and  treated  with 
such  variety  and  with  so  many  shades  of  difference  that 
the  consequent  variation  of  the  curves  alone  is  by  no 
means  the  least  interesting  part  of  the  study  which  may 
be  devoted  to  these  objects. 

Nowadays,  at  least,  the  pastoral  staves  are  no  longer 
the  insignia  of  or  carried  by  the  pope  himself.  In  early 
times  he  bore  merely  a straight  staff  or  sceptre,  known 
as  a ferula,  but  at  no  time  a crosier.  Even  if  a simple 
priest  should  be  elected  pope,  he  would  not  at  his  con- 
secration receive  the  crosier.  Tradition  says  that  St. 
Peter  sent  a staff  to  St.  Eucharius,  the  first  bishop  of 
Treves,  and  that  it  was  preserved  for  some  time  in  that 
o 193 


IVORIES 

church  ; and  St.  Thomas  Aquinas  replies  to  a question 
on  the  subject,  that  the  pope  carries  a staff  only  in  the 
diocese  of  Treves,  and  not  in  any  other ; but  whether 
this  rule  holds  good  with  regard  to  the  exception  at  the 
present  time  it  would  not  be  easy  to  say.  An  ancient 
representation  of  St.  Gregory  the  Great  (sixth  century) 
shows  the  pope  with  a small  staff  in  his  hand,  and  we 
find  the  ferula  of  the  pope  referred  to  in  the  Ordo  of 
Cardinal  Censio,  in  the  Ceremonial  of  Gregory  X.,  both 
of  the  thirteenth  century,  and  in  that  of  Cardinal  Cajetan, 
of  the  fourteenth  century.  Other  instances  might  be 
multiplied,  but  it  need  only  be  said  that  at  the  election 
of  Sixtus  V.,  in  a.d.  1585,  the  custom  fell  into  disuse. 
Another  kind  of  staff  is  sometimes  seen  in  representations 
of  St.  Gregory  the  Great — a kind  of  cross  with  triple 
head  or  three  transverse  bars.  But  there  would  appear 
to  be  no  authority  for  this.  It  has  not  improbably  grown 
out  of  a simple  cross  and  the  bar  or  rest  for  the  feet,  to 
which,  with  an  idea  of  further  dignity,  someone  added 
a third  bar.  Possibly  the  third  bar  is  an  extension  of 
the  tit  ulus. 

With  regard  to  the  bishop’s  staff,  we  have  early 
reference  in  the  will  of  St.  Reni,  who  bequeathed  to  his 
nephew  his  decorated  staff  of  silver.  Isidorus  Hispalensis 
(St.  Isidor  of  Seville,  sixth  century),  in  his  De  officiis, 
speaking  of  the  consecration  of  bishops,  says  that  the 
staff  (baculus)  is  given  as  indicio  snbditmn  sibi  plebeni 
vet  regat  vet  corrigat  vet  infiruiitates  injirmoruni  sus- 
tineat,  referring  to  the  subjection  to  it  of  the  people 
whom  it  is  to  rule  or  correct,  or  to  sustain  the  infirmities 
of  the  weak,  by  its  indication  of  the  right  path  ; and 
there  are  numerous  early  writers  who  mention  the 
delivery  as  part  of  the  office  of  consecration.  The 
staff,  or  crosier,  belongs  also  to  abbots  and  abbesses 
and  cathedral  priors,  and  is  so  mentioned  in  documents 
as  early  as  the  sixth  century.  On  the  tomb  of  Abbot 
Isarn  (1048),  in  the  museum  at  Marseille,  the  abbot 
194 


PASTORAL  STAVES 

carries  a tau,  inscribed  “virga.”  In  the  penitential 
of  Theodore,  archbishop  of  Canterbury,  in  the  seventh 
century,  at  the  blessing  of  an  abbot,  the  delivery  of 
the  staff  is  mentioned,  but  there  is  no  liturgical 
formula.  In  other  early  Ceremonials,  as  in  a Sacra- 
mentarium  of  the  ninth  century,  we  find,  however,  the 
injunction,  ''In  the  name  of  oiir  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
receive  the  pastoral  staff  to  guard  the flock  and  to  restore 
them  to  the  supreme  Pastor','  and  the  same  ceremonies 
and  a similar  formula  in  the  case  of  an  abbess.  At  that 
time,  it  may  be  noted  that  an  abbess  received  her  staff 
from  the  community;  but  later,  as  we  see  in  the  Pontifical 
of  Sens,  of  the  fourteenth  century,  from  the  bishop.  The 
old  Sarum  pontificals  also  prescribe  similar  rites. 

In  many  representations  we  find  a kind  of  veil,  or 
piece  of  stuff,  which  hangs  from  the  knop  of  the  crosier, 
and  it  has  been  thought  by  some  writers  that  abbatial 
staffs  are  in  this  way  distinguished  from  episcopal  ones. 
But  this  can  hardly  be  universal,  at  least,  for  on  the 
tombs  of  Bishops  Branscomb  at  Westminster,  Oldham 
at  Exeter,  John  de  Sheppy  of  Rochester,  and  on  other 
English  tombs,  we  have  the  velum  rolled  round  spirally. 
The  point  is  interesting,  but  beyond  our  present  scope ; 
neither  can  we  do  more  than  mention  that  the  usually 
received  opinion  that  a bishop  carries  his  staff  in  his 
left  hand,  an  abbot  in  his  right,  and  that  the  one  has 
the  crook  turned  outwards,  the  other  inwards,  is  in- 
correct. On  many  tombs,  also,  of  bishop  and  abbot, 
the  staff  is  held  indifferently  either  way. 

The  symbolisms  attached  to  the  crosier  are  various 
and  interesting ; some,  as  we  shall  see,  are  to  be  found 
inscribed  on  the  staves  themselves.  On  the  ivory  pastoral 
staff  of  Otho,  bishop  of  Hildesheim  (a.d.  1260),  we  have 
inscribed,  together  with  the  bishop’s  name,  “ Attrahe  per 
primum,  medio  rege,  punge  per  imum.”  That  is,  “Carry 
it  by  the  upper  part,  govern  by  the  middle,  correct  by 
the  lower  part  (or  point).’’  Or,  shortly,  “Persuade,  rule, 

195 


IVORIES 

punish.”  One  or  two  references  may  be  permitted  here. 
Hugo  de  St.  Victor  thus  explains  the  symbolism:  ''Quae 
significatio7te  non  carent,  recurvitas,  virga,  cuspis : sig- 
nificatio  hoc  carmine  co7itinetur : — 

“ Collige  sustenta  stunula 
Vaga,  morbida,  lenta, 

Hoc  est  pastoris,  hoc  virga  figurat  honoris." 

Which  is  to  say  that  the  important  points  are  the  rod, 
the  curve,  and  the  cusping,  signifying  in  verse  : — 

Gather  the  strayed,  help  the  diseased,  stir  up  the  indolent, 

This  is  the  shepherd’s  duty,  this  the  staff  of  honour  figures. 

And  there  is  a quaint  dialogue  of  the  fifteenth  century 
between  Dives  and  Pauper. 

“Pauper.  The  byshops  crosse  is  called  a shepherds  staffe  to  styre 
the  byshop  to  lownesse,  and  to  thynke  on  the  cure  and  on  the  besynesse 
and  the  charge  that  he  taketh  upon  him  when  he  is  made  bysshop.  He 
bereth  no  sceptre  of  worldely  dygnyte  to  styre  him  to  pryde,  ne  bereth 
ne  swerde  that  is  token  of  cruelte,  but  he  bereth  a shepherdes  staff,  not 
to  slee  ne  to  smyte,  but  for  to  saue  his  sheep  that  ben  his  suggetts 
spyrytually,  whiche  staff  aboue  is  croked  in  maner  of  an  hoke  to  drawe 
agen  that  wolde  not  come,  or  ellys  go  awaye.” 

Crosiers  have  been,  and  are,  made  of  all  kinds  of 
materials — of  wood,  of  horn,  of  iron,  of  crystal ; and  of 
course  there  are  magnificent  specimens  in  silver  and  silver 
gilt,  jewelled  and  adorned  in  various  ways.  The  metal 
ones  were  usually  of  extraordinary  richness  and  elaborate 
design,  and  most  frequently  of  an  architectural  type, 
which  our  ivory  artists,  with  rare  intuition,  beautifully 
as  we  have  shown  they  were  able  to  apply  it,  carefully 
avoided.  In  the  instances  we  have  in  ivory  of  its  use, 
it  was  not  altogether  successful.  In  the  list  of  crosiers 
belonging  to  Canterbury  Cathedral  in  1315  are  one  of 
cedar,  with  nine  golden  angels,  others  of  silver,  wood 
with  head  of  black  horn,  ivory,  and  silver  gilt.  In  the 
inventory  of  Lincoln,  already  mentioned,  is  “ a staft  of 
horn  and  wood  for  ye  head  of  copper,”  but,  singularly, 
amongst  so  vast  an  accumulation  of  treasures,  not  one 
196 


PASTORAL  STAVES 

crook  of  ivory.  An  amusing  jest  of  Guy  Coquille  is 
often  referred  to  : — 

“Au  temps  pass^  du  siecle  d’or 
Crosse  de  bois,  ^veque  d’or 
Maintenant,  changeant  les  lois 
Crosse  d’or,  ^veque  de  bois.” 

or,  as  we  might  say  : — 

“ The  staff  of  a bishop  in  days  that  are  old 
Was  of  wood,  if  the  bishop  himself  were  of  gold  ; 

But  a bishop  of  wood  prefers  gorgeous  array, 

So  his  staff  is  of  gold  in  the  new-fashioned  way,” 

However  magnificent  many  of  the  old  crosiers  in 
precious  metal  may  be,  it  can  hardly  be  gainsaid  that 
there  is  something  extremely  charming  in  the  lightness 
and  simplicity  of  the  examples  in  ivory  which  more 
particularly  interest  us,  and  we  cannot  but  regret  that 
the  fashion  of  using  this  material  appears  to  have  en- 
tirely died  out.  In  the  metal  and  enamelled  crosiers 
there  is  a sense  of  overloading,  of  over-richness.  The 
details  are  not  easily  to  be  made  out,  if  indeed  more 
is  intended  than  to  give  a general  idea  of  gorgeousness 
and  magnificence.  In  ivory  we  are  able — in  addition  to 
the  delicacy  and  purity  of  the  material — to  follow  easily 
the  scientific  treatment  of  the  curves,  and  to  note  the 
almost  imperceptible  differences  in  the  manner  in  which 
the  volute  springs  from  the  head  of  the  staff  and  develops 
itself.  We  are  able  also  to  distinguish  more  readily  the 
symbolical  figures  which  are  frequent  in  the  earlier 
examples,  and  the  charming  groups  which,  so  cleverly 
placed  back  to  back  in  the  centre  of  the  volute,  charac- 
terise nearly  all  the  crosier  heads  of  the  thirteenth  and 
fourteenth  centuries.  It  is  unfortunate  that  as  a rule 
only  the  heads  remain ; few  of  the  staves  have  come  down 
to  us,  and  they  are  the  more  to  be  regretted  as  we  lose 
thereby  the  lesson  of  harmonious  adaptation  which  we 
should  undoubtedly  gain  from  them. 


197 


IVORIES 

Throughout  the  series  of  taus  and  crosiers  which  we 
shall  notice,  the  prevailing  symbol  or  emblem  is  that  of 
the  serpent.  It  is  prominent,  of  course,  in  the  examples, 
and  we  do  not  know  that  we  should  go  very  far  wrong 
in  surmising  that  it  survives  even  in  the  form  of  the 
shepherd’s  crook,  which  was  afterwards  universal,  and 
which  may  be  only  an  instance  of  evolution.  That 
the  symbol  of  the  serpent  was  adopted  in  Christian 
art  from  the  first  ages  of  Christianity  is  certain,  and 
many  are  the  significations  applied  to  it.  There  is,  of 
course,  the  reference  to  Moses’  rod,  and  again  we  shall 
find  very  often  in  the  crosiers  the  association  of  the 
serpent  with  the  dove.  We  shall  see  him  also  entangled 
or  combating  or  on  the  point  of  devouring  the  cross, 
the  dove,  or  the  Lamb,  and  in  these  things  will  be 
symbolised  the  combat  of  our  Lord  with  sin,  or  the 
triumph  of  the  Church  over  Satan. 

It  will  be  more  convenient  in  noticing  the  series  of 
pastoral  staffs  in  ivory — and  we  propose  to  include  all 
which  have  come  down  to  us  that  we  are  able  to  identify 
— to  take  first  the  taus.  These  will  practically  cover  a 
range  of  but  two  centuries,  the  eleventh  and  twelfth,  and 
although  during  this  period  the  crook  shape  was  also 
equally  as  much  in  use,  probably  more  common,  still 
the  tau,  apparently,  entirely  died  out  about  the  end  of 
the  time. 

The  most  usual  method  of  treatment  of  the  volutes 
of  the  tau  was  as  an  imitation  of  a serpent,  sometimes 
simple  and  apparent,  at  others  suggested  only  and 
covered  with  decoration  ; and  as  many  of  these  taus 
are  of  northern  workmanship,  so  we  find  naturally  that 
they  are  of  walrus  ivory  and  the  characteristic  decora- 
tion of  floral  arabesques,  interlacing  bands,  and  gro- 
tesque figures  of  men  and  animals  is  frequent.  A very 
fine  example  from  the  abbey  of  Fecamp,  of  perhaps  the 
tenth  century,  is  in  the  Rouen  Museum.  The  most 
remarkable,  however,  of  this  kind  is  the  one  at  Kensing- 
198 


plate  xli 


bOUR  HEADS  01-  EI.EAENTH  CENTURY  TAUS  AND  A CROSIER  HEAD 

I AND  4.  NOKlilEHN  KUIfOI'I-.  2,  IHK  AI.CF.STEK  TAU.  3.  THE  SOI.TIfCOFF  TAU 


PASTORAL  STAVES 

ton  of  the  eleventh  century,  which  was  formerly  in  the 
Soltikoff  collection.  It  has  lost  the  two  ends,  which 
were  probably  heads  of  animals,  and  perhaps  of  crystal. 
The  decoration  is  most  elaborate,  and  includes  very 
interesting  figures  of  priests  vested  for  mass.  In  addi- 
tion to  the  rich  decoration,  every  little  bead  along  the 
edges  of  the  interlacements  was  set  with  a precious 
stone,  as  well  also  as  the  eyes  of  the  animals. 

There  was  another  very  fine  tau  of  the  thirteenth 
century  in  the  Soltikoff  collection,  or  perhaps,  rather, 
a most  elaborate  head  of  a staff,  for  the  summit  is  a 
figure  of  a lion.  Beneath,  around  the  staff,  are,  in 
compartments,  representations  of  the  consecration  of 
a bishop.  A head  of  a tau,  French,  of  the  twelfth 
century  at  Kensington  is  made  out  of  a flat  piece  of 
ivory,  carved  in  high  relief,  and  represents  men  clothed 
in  tunics  and  apparently  tied  by  the  convolutions  of  the 
interlacing  arabesque  work  in  which  they  are  struggling. 

Still  more  curious,  and  of  a different  type,  is  the  tau 
which  tradition  attributes  to  St.  Herebert,  archbishop  of 
Cologne,  in  the  eleventh  century.  The  ends  are  lions’ 
heads  with  interlaced  work  round  their  necks.  On  one 
side  is  a figure  of  our  Lord  in  an  oval  aureola,  supported 
by  two  angels  stretched  out  horizontally.  On  the  other 
side  is  the  crucifixion,  with  busts  of  the  Virgin  and 
St.  John.  It  is  now  in  the  church  of  Deutz,  near 
Cologne. 

An  interesting  head  of  a tau  of  the  usual  character 
of  northern  work  was  discovered  so  lately  as  the 
year  1903,  in  the  grounds  of  the  vicarage  at  Alcester, 
near  Warwick.  It  is  of  about  the  end  of  the  tenth  or 
beginning  of  the  twelfth  century,  and  no  doubt  came 
from  the  abbey  which  formerly  existed  in  the  neighbour- 
hood. The  floral  ornament  terminates  in  serpents’  heads, 
and  there  is  a representation  of  the  crucifixion  on  one 
side.  It  is  said  that  on  its  discovery  it  was  sent  to  the 
British  Museum  for  examination.  The  authorities  there 


199 


IVORIES 

desired  the  finders  to  name  a price  at  which  they  would 
part  with  it.  Wishing  to  put  on  what  they  considered 
a prohibitive  one,  they  named  a hundred  pounds,  which 
was  promptly  given.  The  style  and  the  character  of 
the  decoration  recall,  in  a way,  the  tau  in  the  museum 
at  Kensington  (No.  371 ’71),  but  the  latter  is  finer.  There 
is  also  a similar  tau  in  the  Basilewski  collection. 
Wherever  made,  the  art  is  Byzantine.  The  Meyrick 
chair-arm  and  many  oliphants  and  draughtsmen  have 
a like  style  of  ornament  and  origin. 

For  the  remainder  of  the  taus  we  may  refer  to  the 
tabulated  list  in  the  Appendix,  and  proceed  next  to  the 
more  usual  shape  of  the  shepherd’s  crook.  The  figure 
of  the  serpent,  with  its  usually  opened  mouth,  forming 
the  volute  of  the  crook,  occurs  over  and  over  again, 
until  we  come  to  the  thirteenth  century,  when  it  is 
generally  displaced  by  the  elegant  method  of  the  charm- 
ingly decorated  curve  enclosing  two  subjects  back  to 
back.  We  pass  through  numerous  variations  of  the 
symbolism  of  the  serpent,  the  dove,  the  cross,  and  the 
Lamb,  already  mentioned.  Of  the  two  first  we  are  at 
once,  and  obviously,  reminded  of  St.  Matthew  x.  16 : 
“ Behold,  I send  you  forth  as  sheep  in  the  midst  of 
wolves : be  ye  therefore  wise  as  serpents,  and  harmless 
as  doves.”  But  we  find  also  many  instances  of  a cross, 
usually  a Maltese  one,  or  a croix  pattde,  stuck  in  the 
mouth  of  the  serpent,  or,  to  use  the  heraldic  term,  by 
which  the  serpent’s  or  dragon’s  mouth  is  empaled.  In 
other  cases  the  projecting  tongue  of  the  serpent  is  forked, 
or  elaborated  into  a floriated  form.  It  is  permissible, 
therefore,  to  conjecture  that  the  cross  in  the  mouth  may 
come  simply  from  additions  such  as  these  to  the  tongue 
to  which  a symbolical  meaning  would  readily  suggest 
itself,  and  convert  into  a practice  that  which  was  at  first 
accidental.  We  may  refer,  for  instance,  to  the  floriation 
in  an  early  example,  such  as  the  crook  of  Bishop  Ivos, 
of  Chartres,  a.d.  1091. 


200 


PASTORAL  STAVES 

Another  emblem  in  the  volutes  of  early  crooks  is  the 
combat  between  the  dragon  and  the  lamb,  as,  for  example, 
in  the  crosier  of  the  thirteenth  century  preserved  in  the 
convent  of  the  Soeurs  de  Ste.  Marie,  at  Namur,  or  in  a 
similar  one  in  the  Ashmolean  Museum.  Or,  again,  as 
in  the  one  called  St.  Gregory’s,  in  his  church  at  Rome, 
though  doubtless  not  older  than  the  twelfth  century,  in 
which  a ram  holding  a cross  is  attacked  by  the  dragon 
or  serpent  terminating  the  volute.  The  ram,  as  leader 
of  the  flock,  with  a cross,  is  frequently  represented,  or 
the  Lamb,  with  or  without  a cross  or  banneret,  and  in 
one  instance,  at  least,  with  the  breast  pierced,  from  which 
blood  flows  into  a chalice.  After  a time  the  serpent  is 
absent,  or  we  find  it  (an  interesting  imagery)  with  foliage 
in  the  mouth,  as  if  feeding.  Then  the  lamb  disappears, 
and  sometimes  the  crook  is  absolutely  plain,  and  de- 
pendent on  the  elegance  of  the  curve.  The  serpent 
termination  would  seem,  in  fact,  at  one  time  to  have 
been  almost  obligatory.  Later  it  is  mingled  with 
ornament  and  leaf  work.  Finally  it  disappears,  and 
the  foliage  ornamentation  dominates,  until  we  settle 
down,  as  it  were,  to  the  elegant  and  simple  type  of 
floral  ornament  with  a double  subject,  and  the  angel 
supporting  the  volute,  which  are  characteristic  of  the 
refined  period  of  the  fourteenth  century. 

To  follow  in  a regular  manner  the  evolution  of  the 
ornament  and  symbolism  to  which  we  have  alluded 
would  be  far  beyond  our  limits.  We  shall  therefore 
select  a few  prominent  examples,  and  leave  the  remainder 
to  the  tabulated  list. 

A curious  circumstance  which  these  crosiers  share 
with  the  liturgical  combs  is  the  large  number  which  are 
attributed  to  canonised  saints.  It  is,  of  course,  evident 
in  most  cases  that  the  date  of  workmanship  is  very  con- 
siderably later  than  the  date  at  which  the  saint  lived ; 
but,  as  in  the  case  of  the  staff  of  St.  Gregory  the  Great, 
it  is  probable  that  on  the  opening  of  tombs,  or  on  the 

201 


IVORIES 

translation  of  relics,  a new  staff  was  substituted  for 
the  one  previously  enclosed. 

An  early  example  of  a style  which  is  not  common  is 
the  Siculo-Arab  crosier  of  the  thirteenth  century  at 
Kensington.  It  is  of  bone,  and  in  this  case,  besides 
the  head,  we  have  also  the  whole  of  the  staff.  The 
volute  springs  from  a geometrically  sided  knop  on  which 
angels  and  emblems  of  the  evangelists  are  alternately 
carved  in  relief.  The  serpent’s  head  which  terminates 
the  volute  is  in  the  act  of  devouring  a dove,  and  in  the 
centre  a lamb  turns  up  his  head  towards  the  dove,  as  if 
to  assure  it  of  protection.  The  outer  edge  of  the  volute 
is  crocheted  with  a series  of  projecting  winged  orna- 
ments. The  staff  is  composed  of  cylindrical  sections, 
and  the  whole  is  diapered  in  colours  and  gold.  A some- 
what similar  staff  is  in  the  Salting  loan  collection.  The 
top  of  the  staff  is  a serpent’s  head,  and  from  its  opened 
mouth  springs  the  volute,  which  is  surmounted  by  busts 
of  our  Lord  and  two  apostles.  Beneath  is  a four-sided 
crocheted  knop  on  which  are  painted  the  four  evangelists 
with  dragons  and  foliated  work.  It  is  perhaps  more 
interesting  than  beautiful. 

Amongst  all  the  ivory  crosiers  which  we  possess, 
probably  there  is  none  more  beautiful  than  the  famous 
one  formerly  in  the  Soltikoff  collection.  It  is  French 
work  of  the  thirteenth  century,  and  in  splendid  pre- 
servation. Above  all  should  be  remarked  the  elegant 
proportions  and  sweep  of  the  volute,  somewhat  small 
and  contracted,  and  diminishing  in  width  in  a most 
charming  manner  from  the  point  where  it  springs  from 
the  stem  to  where  the  curve  begins.  Nothing  could  be 
more  elegant  than  the  effect  which  is  thus  produced  and 
opposed  to  the  lumpiness  which  prevailed  in  later  times. 
In  the  centre  is  the  clever  arrangement  of  two  subjects 
placed  back  to  back,  but  in  such  a way  that  the  open 
work  of  one  scarcely  interferes  at  all  with  the  other, 
giving  us  on  one  side  of  the  crook  the  crucifixion,  on 


203 


I 


PASTORAL  STAVES 

the  other  the  Virgin  crowned  and  standing  on  a dragon, 
which  she  treads  beneath  her  feet.  An  angel,  in  a tunic 
girded  round  the  waist,  supports  with  uplifted  arms  the 
volute,  kneeling  on  one  knee  on  a bracket  which  springs 
from  the  staff.  Around  the  curve  runs  a deep  moulding, 
within  which  are  roses  at  intervals,  and  three  floriated 
ornaments  break  the  outside  line  of  the  crocheted  curve. 
There  are  sufficient  traces  remaining  of  the  rich  colour- 
ing and  gilding  which  formerly  decorated  this  very 
precious  work.  It  was  sold  at  the  sale  of  the  Soltikoff 
collection  for  ^i8o,  and  acquired  by  the  museum  in 
1862  for  ^^265. 

We  have  several  other  beautiful  instances  in  the 
museum  and  in  other  collections  of  the  same  style  of 
treatment  of  a crosier  in  ivory  of  the  thirteenth  and 
fourteenth  centuries — that  is  to  say,  of  the  volute  carved 
usually  with  leaf  work,  upheld  by  a kneeling  angel,  and 
having  a double  group  in  the  centre.  Sometimes  there 
are  three  or  more  bold  foliations,  or  crockets,  on  the 
outer  edge  of  the  curve  which  break  the  line,  and 
perhaps  give  a square-headed  effect,  to  some  extent 
hiding  the  crook  shape,  and  now  and  again  there  is  no 
supporting  angel. 

In  the  Revue  Archdologique,  vol.  xiii.,  an  ivory 
crosier  is  mentioned  and  figured  and  described  by 
M.  Gu^n^bault  as  being  in  1856  in  the  collection  of 
M.  Jacquinot  Godard:  Romanesque  work  of  the  eleventh 
or  twelfth  century.  The  flat  sides  are  covered  with 
foliated  interlacements  of  birds  and  fabulous  animals  of 
extreme  elegance  of  design,  the  volute  terminating  in 
a dragon  which  bites  part  of  the  staff.  Within  the 
volute  a bishop  in  chasuble  and  mitre  and  with  his 
staff  is  in  the  act  of  blessing  or  confirming  a figure 
kneeling  before  him,  and  around  the  base  from  which 
the  curve  springs  are  three  figures — a bishop,  a deacon, 
and  a sub-deacon.  The  head  of  the  staff  is  of  an  archi- 
tectural character,  with  the  inscription,  “ Sit  nomen 

203 


IVORIES 

Domini  benedictum.”  M.  Gu6n^bault  remarks  that 
in  the  figures  referred  to,  the  absolute  form  of  eccle- 
siastical costume  of  the  eleventh  or  twelfth  century  is 
clearly  indicated.  It  would  be  interesting  to  know 
where  this  apparently  beautiful  work  is  now  to  be 
found.  The  illustration  given  is  unfortunately  a wood- 
cut,  and  such  reproductions  are  often  very  misleading. 

A very  beautiful  crosier  of  this  class  is  in  the  posses- 
sion of  the  Howard  family  of  Corby.  It  bears  on  one 
side  a representation  of  the  Virgin  and  Child  seated 
and  attended  by  angels ; below  are  diminutive  figures 
of  the  three  kings.  On  the  other  side  our  Lord  is 
seated  in  judgment  between  two  angels  bearing  instru- 
ments of  His  passion  ; at  His  feet  human  figures  issue 
from  their  tombs.  On  the  knop  are  the  twelve  apostles 
arranged  under  six  canopies  with  two  niches  in  each. 
It  is  of  the  fourteenth  century,  and  may  reasonably  be 
considered  as  a fine  specimen  of  English  work. 

The  crosier  of  Bishop  Otho  of  Hildesheim,  son  of 
Duke  Otho  of  Brunswick  Luneburg,  in  the  cathedral  of 
Hildesheim,  is  of  the  serpent  and  Lamb  type,  and  bears 
the  inscription  previously  noticed,  “ + otto  episc  i hildens. 
Collige  sustenta,  stimula  vaga  morbida  lenta  Attrahe 
per  primum,  medio  rege,  punge  per  imum  Pasce  gregem 
norma,  doce,  serva  corrige  forma  ” ; and  on  that  of 
St.  Annon,  at  Cologne — a beautiful  example  of  Rhenish 
w'ork  of  the  eleventh  century,  a quite  plain  but  very 
elegant  curve — we  have,  “ Sterne  resistentes,  stantes 
rege,  tolle  jacentes.” 

A very  beautiful  staff,  French  work  of  the  eleventh 
century,  in  the  British  Museum,  is  said  to  be  that  of 
St.  Bernard.  The  volute  ends  in  a serpent’s  head  about 
to  devour  a cockatrice,  which  fills  the  centre,  and  beneath 
it  is  supported  by  an  eagle.  It  has  at  one  time  been 
covered  with  gems,  but  the  setting  and  gilding  only 
remain.  In  the  same  museum  are  also  an  extremely 
interesting  crosier  head  of  English  work  with  a grotesque 
204 


PASTORAL  STAVES 

group  of  a man  struggling  with  the  serpent  which  forms 
the  staff  and  volute,  his  feet  already  within  the  jaws  ; 
the  head  of  the  staff  of  Alexander,  abbot  of  Peter- 
borough, A.D,  1226,  which  was  found  in  his  coffin  ; and 
another  English  one  of  the  fourteenth  century. 

The  crosier  of  St.  Gautier,  abbot  of  St.  Martin,  at 
Pontoise,  a.d.  1066,  has  thirty  scriptural  subjects  sculp- 
tured round  the  staff.  Another  very  curious  example  is 
that  called  the  crosier  of  St.  Trophimus,  at  Arles,  of  the 
twelfth  century.  It  is  square  in  section,  terminated  by 
a dragon’s  head,  which  touches  the  staff  where  it  is 
upheld  by  a figure  of  a boy.  In  the  volute  the  trans- 
lation of  the  saint’s  body  is  represented  in  an  archaic 
manner.  An  elaborate  example  is  the  crosier  formerly 
in  the  Soltikoff  and  now  in  the  Salting  collection  in 
the  museum  at  Kensington.  The  volute  is  upheld  by 
the  kneeling  figures  of  an  angel  and  a tonsured  bishop. 
Within  the  curve  are  figures  of  the  Virgin,  an  angel, 
and  a bishop.  It  appears  to  be  late  fourteenth-century 
work,  if  not  indeed  at  least  as  late  as  the  middle  of  the 
fifteenth.  The  aspect  is  rather  square-shaped  than  that 
of  a crook,  and  it  seems  overloaded  with  figures  and 
ornament.  The  portion  of  the  staff  below  the  crook  is 
decorated  with  leaf-work  rosettes  and  plain  shields. 
Both  this  and  the  other  crosier  in  the  collection  are 
accompanied  by  their  beautiful  cases  of  cuir-bouilli 
work  of  the  period. 

One  more  example,  or  rather,  a portion  of  a crosier, 
remains  to  be  described.  Of  any  work  in  ivory  of 
mediaeval  times  which  has  come  down  to  us  it  is  per- 
haps the  most  beautiful,  and  it  is  included  here  because, 
though  a fragment,  it  can  scarcely  be  doubted  that  it 
must  at  one  time  have  formed  one  of  the  double  groups 
within  the  volute  of  a crosier  which  have  already  been 
mentioned  more  than  once.  On  one  side  is  represented 
the  agony  in  the  garden ; on  the  other  is  a group  of  the 
kind  which  we  know  by  the  expressive  term,  a Pieta, 

205 


IVORIES 

that  is,  a representation  of  the  Virgin  holding  in  her 
lap  the  body  of  her  divine  Son  at  the  moment  im- 
mediately after  the  descent  from  the  cross.  There  is  no 
more  touching  episode  in  the  world’s  history,  and  it 
may  safely  be  asserted  that  in  no  other  material,  and  by 
no  other  artist,  be  he  known  by  a great  name,  or  unknown 
and  undistinguished  as  is  the  designer  and  sculptor  of 
this  exquisite  group,  has  the  subject  been  more  admirably 
and  pathetically  treated  than  in  this  small  ivory.  The 
position  in  which  the  mother  supports  the  head,  while 
the  lifeless  body  is  half  falling  in  helplessness,  the  sim- 
plicity and  naturalness  of  the  veil  and  draperies,  the 
bereaved  gaze  of  the  Virgin,  above  all,  the  reality  of 
death  in  the  face  and  limbs  of  the  divine  Person,  are 
almost  beyond  expression.  For  a description  to  be 
sufficiently  true  it  would  indeed  be  necessary  to  dwell 
upon  every  and  the  smallest  detail ; the  position  of  the 
hands,  the  anatomy  in  the  figure  of  the  dead  Christ — 
there  is  nothing  that  could  be  omitted.  The  whole 
piece  is  hardly  three  inches  high,  and  has  been  coloured. 
Indeed,  one  wishes  it  had  not  (plate  lii.). 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  variety  amongst  these  beautiful 
specimens  of  bishops’  crooks  is  very  great.  More  could 
be  specified  and  further  variations,  but  it  would  become 
tedious.  The  best  examples  stop  early  in  the  fifteenth 
century,  and  we  have  little  interest  in  following  them^ 
through  the  time  of  the  renaissance  and  succeeding 
periods,  for  in  ivory  there  is  nothing  worth  notice.  As 
in  other  church  work  of  the  rococo  times,  we  find  but 
overloaded  and  unmeaning  ornament,  grotesqueness  and 
vulgarity  often  at  its  worst.  The  blessed  Virgin  is  en- 
throned and  crowned  with  monstrous  crowns,  we  have 
cherubs  instead  of  angels,  coarse  acanthus  and  bulbous 
ornaments  in  profusion,  unreal  clouds,  and  flames  for 
glories.  Meretricious  extravagance  takes  the  place  of 
refined  devotional  feeling ; there  are  hardness  of  line 
and  precision  of  chasing,  instead  of  the  freedom  of  better 
206 


LITURGICAL  COMBS 

times.  There  is  an  ivory  crosier  of  the  eighteenth  century 
in  the  Kensington  Museum  which  is  better  left  un- 
described. Of  the  period  of  the  high  French  mitre  and 
of  the  elegant  abb^  we  must  be  prepared  to  expect 
something  equally  fantastic. 

A few  words  must  be  added  regarding  another  kind 
of  staff  used  in  the  church  service,  although  we  are  un- 
aware of  examples  in  ivory.  This  was  the  staff  of 
the  ruler  of  the  choir,  or  cantor’s  staff.  It  would  appear 
that  it  was  usually  surmounted  by  a short  crosspiece,  on 
the  top  of  which  images  were  sometimes  set.  Bishop 
Leofric  left  three  cantors’  staves  to  his  cathedral  of  Exeter. 
In  the  treasury  of  Salisbury,  in  1222,  there  were  eight, 
and  at  Canterbury,  in  1315,  among  the  cantors’  staves, 
four  were  of  horn  with  ivory  heads,  and  five  of  silver, 
also  with  ivory  heads.  (Dart, 

The  comb  was  a very  important  accessory  in  the 
ceremonial  of  the  Church,  and  its  use  may  be  traced  to 
very  ancient  times.  It  was  often  elaborately  decorated, 
and  as  most  of  the  finest  specimens  that  have  come  down 
to  us  are  of  ivory,  they  form  a very  interesting  portion 
of  our  subject.  Ivory  appears  to  have  been  the  natural 
material  for  such  things,  and  we  shall  in  a succeeding 
chapter  refer  to  many  beautiful  examples  for  ordinary 
domestic  use.  In  both  cases  they  were  often  very  large, 
and  evidently  considered  fit  subjects  for  decoration.  The 
form  is  nearly  always  the  double  one,  that  is,  with  two 
rows  of  teeth,  of  the  style  which  we  now  call  the  small- 
tooth  comb.  Although  in  early  and  mediaeval  times  the 
tonsure  of  the  clergy  was  much  the  same  as  it  is  now- 
adays, it  would  appear  that  in  the  case  of  some  orders 
of  monks  a circle  of  thick  hair  was  left  which  often  re- 
quired the  use  of  the  comb.  Thus  in  time  it  became  a 
recognised  liturgical  accessory,  especially  of  a bishop 
when  ceremonially  vesting  before  celebrating  High  Mass; 
and  in  the  ceremonial,  as  we  find  in  the  Roman  pontificals, 
there  were  also  provided  special  peignoirs,  or  wrappers 

207 


IVORIES 

{tobalia,  touaille,  towel),  to  be  used  during  the  combing. 
In  the  missal  of  Lunden,  a.d.  1514,  we  have  the  prayer, 
common  to  both  priests  and  bishops,  prescribed  to  be 
used.  The  expressions  are  naive  and  unnecessary  to 
quote,  praying  that  as  the  head  is  cleansed,  so  also  may 
be  the  heart.  In  the  case  of  a bishop  the  ceremonial 
lays  down  that,  being  seated  in  the  faldstool,  after  having 
had  his  ordinary  shoes  changed  for  the  sandals,  the  deacon 
envelopes  him  in  the  peignoir,  and  combs  the  hair  re- 
spectfully and  lightly.  In  the  pontifical  of  Clement  VIII. 
and  of  Urban  VIII.  (1623),  amongst  the  objects  necessary 
to  be  provided  at  the  consecration  of  bishops  are  “a  ring 
with  a stone  to  be  blessed,  a comb  of  ivory,  and  two 
candles  for  the  offering.”  The  combs  are  often  so  large 
that  the  ceremony  no  doubt,  like  many  others,  was 
perfunctory  and  partly  symbolical.  It  is  not  uninteresting 
to  remark,  as  touching  possibly  the  habits  of  divers 
periods  with  regard  to  the  wearing  of  the  hair  or  beard, 
that  most  of  the  examples  of  combs  which  remain  to  us 
are  of  the  tenth  to  twelfth  centuries.  Most  likely  at 
first  it  was  a sacristy  article  for  the  use  of  all  ecclesiastics. 

The  custom  appears  to  have  fallen  into  disuse  early 
in  the  sixteenth  century,  except  possibly  for  consecra- 
tions, where  the  hair  is  disarranged  owing  to  the 
enveloping  of  the  head  with  linen  after  anointing.  In 
this  conjunction  we  have  an  interesting  instance  in  the 
Order  of  the  Coronation  service  of  King  James  I.,  in 
which  we  find:  “The  prayers  being  ended.  First  a 
shallow  ‘quoif’  is  put  on  the  King’s  head,  because  of 
the  anointing : if  his  Majesty’s  hair  be  not  smooth  after 
it,  there  is  King  Edward’s  ivory  comb  for  that  end.” 
This  may  have  been  the  “one  old  comb  of  horn,  worth 
nothing,”  in  the  list  of  the  regalia  destroyed  on  the  9th 
August,  1649.  (Davenport,  The  English  Regalia) 

Liturgical  combs  are  very  often  mentioned  in  wills 
and  inventories.  In  the  inventory  of  St.  Paul’s  in  the 
year  1222  there  were  three  large,  three  small,  one 
208 


LITURGICAL  COMBS 

“ pecten  pulchrum,”  the  gift  of  John  de  Chishulle,  and 
three  others,  all  of  ivory,  and  as  many  in  the  treasury 
of  the  cathedral  of  Canterbury  in  1315,  besides  “j  pecten 
eburneus  cum  lamine  argento  et  deaurato  cum  gemmis 
ex  utraque  parte.”  An  ivory  comb  was  found  amongst 
the  relics  of  the  supposed  tomb  of  St.  Cuthbert  at 
Durham,  and  in  Raine’s  account  of  the  tomb  he  prints 
an  inventory,  dated  1383,  of  the  relics  at  Durham, 
amongst  which  were  the  combs  of  Malachias  the  arch- 
bishop, of  St.  Boysil  the  priest,  and  of  St.  Dunstan. 
A rubric  in  the  pontifical  of  Archbishop  Bainbridge 
of  York  shows  that  the  ceremonial  use  of  the  comb 
continued  in  England  until  the  Reformation.  It  is 
curious  to  observe,  amongst  the  ivory  combs  now  in 
existence,  how  very  many,  as  in  the  case  of  pastoral 
staves,  are  attributed  to  saintly  personages.  No  doubt  a 
reason  for  this  comes  from  the  old  chronicles.  At  the 
times  of  translations,  for  example,  a comb  would  be  noted 
in  the  inventories,  made  good  or  replaced,  and  by  degrees 
would  become  attributed  to  the  saint  in  whose  reliquary 
it  was  kept. 

The  number  of  liturgical  combs  that  are  known  is 
not  very  large,  and  they  are  all  interesting.  It  is  not 
always  easy  to  be  certain  of  the  dates,  and  probably 
many  would  have  been  copied  from  other  existing  ones 
over  and  over  again.  The  comb  called  the  comb  of 
St.  Loup  is  in  the  treasury  of  St.  Etienne  at  Sens.  St. 
Lupus  died  a.d.  623,  and  it  would  be  difficult  to  be  more 
precise  as  to  the  date  of  this  beautiful  example  than  to 
place  it  somewhere  between  this  time  and  five  or  six 
centuries  later.  It  is  of  the  usual  double  shape,  the  teeth 
smaller  on  one  side  than  on  the  other,  and  in  the  centre 
is  a semicircular  plaque  ornamented  with  foliage  and 
lions,  and  set  with  precious  stones.  The  design  of  the 
foliage  is  almost  identical  with  that  on  the  comb  of  the 
eleventh  century  in  the  museum  at  Cologne.  The  in- 
scription, “PECTEN.  s.  LVPi,”  is  of  the  fourteenth  century, 
p 209 


IVORIES 

The  comb  of  St.  Herebert,  Carlovingian  work  of  the 
ninth  century,  is  an  extremely  fine  example,  unusual  in 
shape  and  of  remarkably  good  design  and  execution. 
It  has  one  row  of  teeth  only,  the  large  handle  being  cut 
out  to  suit  the  fingers  holding  it,  and  in  such  a way  as 
to  give  it  a very  elegant  form,  the  curves  of  the  notches 
having  been  made  the  most  of  in  the  admirable  arrange- 
ment of  acanthus  foliage,  and  of  an  angel  on  each  side, 
with  wings  stretched  upwards,  descending,  as  it  were,  to 
the  group  of  the  crucifixion  above  the  curved  top  of  the 
range  of  teeth.  The  back  is  also  decorated  with  acanthus 
foliage,  disposed  with  the  utmost  symmetry.  A comb, 
known  as  the  comb  of  St.  Berthuin,  in  the  diocesan 
museum  at  Lidge,  came  from  the  treasury  of  the  abbey 
of  Malonne,  an  abbey  founded  by  St.  Berthuin,  who 
was  of  English  origin,  at  the  end  of  the  sixth  century. 
It  bears  a peculiar  figure,  from  which  it  is  not  unreason- 
able to  suppose  that  it  is  of  eastern,  possibly  Persian, 
workmanship. 

The  comb  of  St.  Gauzelin  is  in  the  treasury  of  the 
cathedral  of  Nancy.  St.  Gauzelin  was  bishop  of  Toul 
from  A.D.  922  to  A.D.  962,  and  this  comb  is  a graceful 
design,  which  we  can  without  any  difficulty  accept  as 
an  example  of  tenth-century  workmanship.  It  has  two 
rows  of  teeth,  the  centre  portion,  which  is  nearly  square, 
open-worked  with  a very  beautiful  design  under  arcades; 
an  arabesque  of  vine  leaves  and  of  bunches  of  grapes, 
which  appears  to  spring  from  a chalice.  Among  the 
vine  branches  are  three  doves.  The  ornamentation  is 
boldly  designed  and  admirably  executed,  and  it  has  a 
remarkable  resemblance  to  that  on  a sarcophagus  at 
Ravenna,  from  which  it  would  almost  appear  to  have 
been  directly  copied.  There  are  the  same  interlacements 
of  foliage  and  bunches  of  grapes  springing  from  the 
chalice,  the  same  three  doves  pecking  at  the  fruit,  and, 
as  a matter  of  fact,  these  symmetrical  arrangements 
and  symbolical  groupings  of  vines  issuing  from  chalices, 
210 


PI. ATE  XLtll  l.riUK(;iCAl,  COM  11: 


•I 


V 


LITURGICAL  COMBS 

with  doves  or  lambs,  with  crosses  and  monograms,  are 
frequent  in  the  sculptured  monuments  of  Ravenna. 
They  are  seen  also  in  early  mosaics,  for  example  those 
of  the  sixth  century  in  the  church  of  St.  Apollinare 
Nuovo,  at  Ravenna,  and  in  the  catacombs  at  Rome. 
And  again,  in  the  black  font  at  Winchester  we  have  the 
birds  and  cup  from  which  a vine  issues.  Sometimes  the 
doves  are  drinking  from  the  vase,  or  their  heads  are 
inclined  backwards  to  each  other,  beak  to  beak;  but  the 
vase,  or  chalice,  and  the  vine  branches  are  the  most  fre- 
quent. That  Christian  symbolism  is  intended  is  of 
course  evident ; at  the  same  time  the  device  has,  in  all 
probability,  a pagan  origin,  to  be  traced  back,  perhaps, 
to  remote  oriental  times. 

Two  interesting  liturgical  combs  from  the  old  church 
of  the  Capuchins  at  Stavelot  are  now  in  the  museum  at 
Brussels.  The  first  is  very  large,  with  two  rows  of  long 
teeth,  the  centre  ornamented  with  an  arabesque  of 
foliage  and  birds.  The  second  has  in  the  middle  a large 
foliated  rosette  and  the  inscription,  “ Quicunque  ex  me 
suum  planaverit  quoque  caput,  ipse  vivat  feliciter  semper 
annis,”  a pious  wish  for  happy  years  to  those  who  use  it. 
Both  were  found  in  a wooden  box  amongst  other  debris 
of  the  principal  altar  in  the  church  at  Stavelot,  and  had 
probably  been  enclosed  in  a reliquary. 

The  comb  of  St.  Hubert,  patron  of  hunters,  who 
was  bishop  of  Tongres  in  727,  is  preserved  in  the  abbey 
of  St.  Hubert,  in  the  Ardennes.  It  is  of  the  usual  shape, 
the  field  ornamented  with  elegant  floral  arabesques. 
There  are  several  others,  which  we  must  be  content  to 
notice  shortly  in  our  tabulated  list,  and  for  the  present 
describe  only  two  of  English  origin.  The  first,  prob- 
ably thirteenth-century  work,  has  long  been  preserved 
at  Hardwicke  Court,  Gloucestershire.  It  is  carved  in 
high  relief  with  New  Testament  scenes — the  Nativity, 
the  angels  appearing  to  the  shepherds,  the  Flight  into 
Egypt,  the  Massacre  of  the  Innocents,  the  Last  Supper, 


21 1 


IVORIES 


the  Betrayal,  the  Crucifixion,  and  the  Entombment.  The 
armed  figures  in  the  Entombment  have  pointed  helmets 
with  nasals  and  long  kite-shaped  shields. 

The  second  English  comb  is  a very  remarkable  and 
beautiful  specimen  of  perhaps  the  twelfth  century,  in  the 
British  Museum.  There  are  two  rows  of  coarse  teeth, 
and  between  them  in  three  compartments  (though  un- 
fortunately one  end  of  the  comb  is  broken  and  missing) 
are  interlacing  leaf-work  scrolls,  and  amongst  them  a 
man  in  a belted  tunic  blowing  a huge  trumpet.  The 
flat  bands  have  a very  curious  plaited  ornament  in  relief, 
and  a kind  of  small  handle  with  a ring  for  suspension 
is  still  more  interesting.  The  latter  portion  recalls  in  a 
curious  way  the  peculiar  method  of  inlay  in  precious 
stones,  and  of  depressions  in  the  metal  resembling  those 
prepared  for  inlay,  which  characterise  some  early  northern 
work,  for  example,  the  gold  ornaments  known  as  the 
treasure  of  Novo-Tcherkask,  which  were  found  in  1864, 
but  of  what  date  or  origin  it  is  difficult  to  say.  The  in- 
cised inscription  on  the  comb  is,  as  far  as  it  is  to  be  read, 

“ VD.  VVLT.  D DEVS.  DHa-^PS.” 

With  regard  to  the  shape  of  liturgical  combs,  there 
would  appear  to  be  a certain  amount  of  progressive 
regularity.  At  the  same  time  it  must  be  remembered 
that  though  probably  of  larger  size,  they  would  have 
followed  to  some  extent  the  usual  form  of  ordinary 
domestic  combs  of  the  various  countries  of  origin.  The 
semicircular  field  of  the  central  portion,  either  plain  or  t 
open-worked,  or,  as  in  the  case  of  the  comb  of  St.  Loup,  | 
ornamented  with  precious  stones,  and  having  two  rows  I 
of  teeth,  was  perhaps  the  result  of  a gradual  evolution,  ( 
which  became  fixed,  as  a type,  about  the  eleventh  century.  ) 
We  find,  then,  the  characteristic  ornamentation  of  foliated  i 
arabesque,  amongst  which  are  grotesque  or  symbolical  ! 
animals  or  birds.  The  largest  combs  would  have  twoi  1 
rows  of  teeth,  on  the  one  side  large,  on  the  other  small  ;l  ; 
the  smaller  combs  but  one  row.  Both  kinds  are  ex-i 


212 


LITURGICAL  COMBS 

emplified  in  the  Stavelot  combs.  An  earlier  form  was  a 
rectangular  centre  with  shorter  and  thicker  teeth,  which 
becomes  square  with  extremely  long  teeth,  as  in  the 
comb  of  St.  Gauzelin,  in  the  early  part  of  the  tenth 
century.  Earlier  still  is  the  extremely  elegant  notched 
shape  with  a single  row  of  fine  and  closely  ranged  teeth, 
which  we  find  in  the  two  combs  in  the  Cologne  Museum 
and  in  the  comb  of  Henry  11.  at  Quedlinburg,  which 
much  resembles  them.  These  three  are  probably  of 
eastern  origin,  or  at  least  to  be  attributed  to  eastern 
influence. 

Besides  the  combs  for  liturgical  uses,  ivory  mirror 
cases,  decorated  with  religious  subjects,  are  sometimes 
found;  and  although  they  are  not  referred  to  in  rituals 
as  forming  part  of  the  furniture  of  the  sanctuary,  still 
they  would  have  been  probably  used  in  the  sacristy. 
In  the  same  way  very  large  shoe-horns  of  ivory,  similarly 
decorated,  would  perhaps  have  been  required,  for  a bishop 
is  ceremonially  vested  with  sandals,  and  shoes  are  taken 
off  by  priests  in  a part  of  the  services  of  Holy  Week. 

An  unique  example — in  ivory,  at  least — of  a curious 
instrument  for  ecclesiastical  purposes  is  in  the  Basilewski 
collection.  It  is  a crepitactthmi,  or  rattle,  used  during 
the  offices  of  the  church  on  days  in  Holy  Week  when 
bells  are  silenced.  The  broad  blades,  which  are  of  a 
long  rectangular  shape,  are  carved  with  scenes  from  the 
Passion,  and  the  handle  with  figures  of  SS.  Peter  and 
Paul.  Passeri  describes  and  figures  it  in  his  Thesaurus, 
but  imagines  it  to  be  of  wood.  The  date  and  origin  are 
uncertain.  It  may  be  Italian  of  about  the  twelfth  century. 


213 


A LIST  AND  SHORT  DESCRIPTION  OF  SOME  KNOWN 
EXAMPLES  OF  IVORY  TAUS  AND  CROSIERS 


TAUS 

SIXTH  CENTURY? 

Cathedral  at  Bruges.  Staff  of  St.  Maclou.  Fragments  mounted  in 
copper  gilt. 

NINTH  CENTURY? 

Parish  church,  Deutz.  Tau  of  St.  Herebert?  Our  Lord  in  oval 
aureola,  on  each  side  wingless  angels  stretched  horizontally ; crucifixion, 
descent  into  hell,  etc.  Lions’  head  ends.  Probably  not  earlier  than  the 
eleventh  century. 

ELEVENTH  AND  TWELFTH  CENTURIES 

Paris.  Cluny  Museum.  French.  Unusually  simple  shape  ; found 
at  St.  Germain  des  Pres  in  tomb  of  Abbot  Morard  (a.D.  990-1014). 

St.  Petersburg.  Basilewski  collection.  An  animal  biting  Maltese 
cross,  at  each  end. 

Paris.  Texier  collection.  A large  reversed  triangular  head,  the 
outer  angles  ending  in  lions’  heads. 

London.  British  Museum.  English.  Floral  ornament,  etc.  Found 
at  Alcester.  Described  in  text. 

London.  Kensington  Museum.  N.  Europe.  Formerly  in  Soltikoff. 
Described  in  text. 

London.  Kensington  Museum.  Volutes  of  serpents  seizing  men, 
subdued  by  Archangel  Michael  ; our  Lord  in  glory  in  centre  of  one 
side ; in  the  other  the  Virgin  and  Child  ; a very  fine  example. 

Rouen.  Museum.  Arabesque  foliage  and  figures;  interesting  sym- 
bolism ; a lion,  dragons,  birds,  etc.,  in  the  whorls. 

Maestricht.  Cathedral  of  St.  Servais.  Tau  of  St.  Servais. 
Arabesque  foliage  and  branching  acanthus  leaves.  (St.  Servatius,  or 
Servais,  was  of  the  fourth  century.) 

Salzburg.  Monastery  of  St.  Peter.  Tau  of  St.  Rupert.  Octagonal 
stem  with  inscriptions  ; serpents’  head  volutes. 

Regensburg.  Ramwolds  Gruft.  Staff  of  St.  Wolfgang  ; foliage  ; 
head  of  unicorn. 

Chartres.  Museum.  French.  Lion’s  head  in  centre;  foliated 
branches. 

Brussels.  De  Crassier  collection  (?).  Medallion  with  Virgin  and 
Child  in  centre  of  one  side ; on  the  other  St.  Michael  subduing  dragon  ; 
men  struggling  with  dragons  on  volutes  (perhaps  identical  with  that  at 
Kensington  described  above). 

214 


IVORY  TAUS  AND  CROSIERS 

London.  Kensington  Museum.  N.  Europe.  In  form  of  snakes ; 
an  archbishop  on  one  side,  on  the  other  a saint,  under  round  Norman 
arches ; doubtful  authenticity. 

London.  Kensington  Museum.  French.  Flat-sided ; two  men 
struggling  amidst  the  floral  arabesques  on  one  side;  winged  griffins  on 
the  other  ; the  ends  lost. 

St.  Petersburg.  Basilewski  collection.  N.  Europe.  Medallion  in 
centre  of  each  side  with  busts  of  our  Lord  and  of  Virgin  and  Child  ; 
foliage  ; dragon’s  head  ends. 


CROSIERS 

NINTH  (ELEVENTH?)  CENTURY 

Rome.  Vatican  Museum.  Octagonal  whorl ; animal’s  head  end. 

Fulda.  Cathedral.  Staff  of  St.  Boniface.  Dragon’s  head  end ; 
unicorn  and  cross  in  volute. 

TENTH  CENTURY? 

Rome.  Church  of  St.  Gregory.  Staff  of  St.  Gregory.  Combat 
between  serpent  and  cross;  ram  with  cross  (St.  Gregory  was  of  sixth 
century),  given  by  Pope  Gregory  XVI.  to  the  monastery  of  St.  Gregorio, 
in  Monte  Celio,  where  it  is  exposed  as  a relic.  Tenth  century,  or  later. 
Some  incised  ornament  is  probably  considerably  later.  The  Maltese 
cross  is  on  a staff,  or  ferula,  and  is  not  held  by,  but  stands  behind,  the 
ram. 

Newcastle-on-Tyne.  Museum  of  Philosophical  Society  ? Formerly 
in  Allan  Museum  of  this  town.  Resembles  that  of  St.  Gregory,  but  the 
lamb  has  the  head  turned  to  a large  croix  patee,  which  the  serpent  is 
apparently  attacking  ; said  to  have  come  from  Easby  Abbey  ; illustrated 
in  catalogue  of  Allan  Museum  (1827). 

London.  British  Museum.  Irish.  Interlaced  animals;  dragon 
head  end  of  volute ; found  in  ruins  of  cathedral  of  Aghadoe.  Tenth 
to  twelfth  century.  Formerly  in  Meyrick. 

Como.  Church  of  St.  Carpoforo.  Staff  of  St.  Felix.  Combat  of 
serpent  and  cross. 

ELEVENTH,  TWELFTH,  AND  THIRTEENTH  CENTURIES 

Cologne.  Cathedral.  Staff  of  St.  Annon.  Plain  volute;  serpent’s 
head  end. 

Reims.  Cathedral.  Fragments  of  stem  ; scriptural  subjects  in 
fifteen  compartments. 

Lyon.  Cathedral.  Ram  or  unicorn  head,  with  Maltese  cross. 

Florence.  Bargello  (Carrand).  Figures  of  bishop  and  priests  at  base, 
evangelists  above  knop,  arabesques  with  men,  birds,  and  beasts  on  volute; 
dragon’s  head  end  with  Maltese  cross. 

Pontoise.  Staff  of  St.  Gautier,  abbot  in  1066.  Thirty-six  scriptural 
subjects. 

Admont.  Monastery.  Dragon’s  head  end ; winged  horse  in 
centre  with  Maltese  cross  in  mouth. 


215 


IVORIES 

Narbonne.  Museum.  Dragon  end  ; Annunciation  in  volute. 

Bamberg.  Cathedral.  Staff  of  St.  Otto.  Serpent  whorl ; Annun- 
ciation within. 

Altenburg  (Aust.).  Monastery.  Volute  terminates  in  head  of  a 
beast ; eagle  and  another  bird  in  centre ; a Maltese  cross  on  open  wing 
of  eagle. 

Regensburg.  Churchof  St.  Emmeram.  Staff  of  St.  Wolfgang.  Figure 
of  the  bishop. 

Regensburg.  Niedermiinster,  Interlaced  ribbon  work.  Dragon’s 
head  end. 

Arles.  Cathedral.  Staff  of  St.  Trophimus.  Translation  of  the 
saint  in  the  volute. 

Trent.  Church  of  St.  Apollinaris.  Spiral  whorl,  knobs  on  edge, 
snake’s  head  end. 

Gottweitz.  Monastery.  Two  birds  within  volute,  necks  inter- 
twined ; serpent’s  head  end. 

Rome.  Vatican  Museum.  Whorl  ends  in  unicorn’s  head,  branch 
in  mouth. 

Salzburg.  Frauenstift.  Volute  springs  from  dragon’s  mouth  ; 
agnus  dei  in  centre;  foliage  crockets;  dragon’s  head  end.  Inscriptions: 
Ave  Maria,  etc.;  Salve  Regina,  etc. 

Maestricht.  Cathedral.  Staff  of  St.  Servais.  Quite  plain,  flat-sided 
volute  ; serpent’s  head  end. 

Niedermiinster.  Serpent  with  cross.  Floriated. 

Siegburg.  Staff  of  Bishop  Anno  II.  Plain  volute  ending  in  ser- 
pent’s head  with  bird  in  mouth. 

London.  British  Museum.  Staff  of  abbot  of  Peterborough. 
Scroll  ornament ; floriated  end. 

Copenhagen.  Royal  Museum.  Plain  whorl  continued  twice  round; 
dragons’  heads  in  centre. 

Copenhagen.  Royal  Museum.  Figure  of  bishop.  Foliage,  whorl, 
and  grapes. 

Vannes.  Cathedral.  Staff  of  St.  Paternus.  Serpent’s  head.  Ram 
in  centre. 

Metz.  Cathedral.  Double  subject ; supporting  angel. 

Namur.  Convent  of  N.D.  Volute  ending  in  dragon’s  head;  lamb 
in  centre. 

Oxford.  Bodleian.  Volute  ending  in  serpent’s  head;  lamb  in  centre; 
combat  with  dragon. 

Ravenna.  Museum.  Volute  ending  in  serpent’s  head;  lamb  in  centre. 

Fabriano.  Possente  collection  (formerly).  Two  examples:  serpent’s 
head  and  lamb. 

Perugia.  Museum  of  the  Academy.  Volute  ending  in  serpents’ 
heads  ; lamb  in  centre. 

Swetl.  Monastery.  Leaf  ornament  round  volute ; Virgin  and 
Child,  to  whom  the  donor  is  kneeling.  The  whole  staff. 

London.  Kensington  Museum.  Siculo- Arab  work.  Described  in  text. 

Paris.  Cluny  Museum.  Virgin  and  Child  within  foliated  volute. 

216 


IVORY  TAUS  AND  CROSIERS 

London.  Kensington  Museum.  The  Soltikofif  crosier  head.  De- 
scribed in  text. 

Raigern.  Monastery.  Double  subject ; inscription. 

London.  Salting  collection.  Siculo-Arab.  Described  in  text. 

Hildesheim.  Cathedral.  Staff  of  St.  Otho.  Serpent’s  head  end  ; 
lamb  with  banner  in  centre ; silver  ornament  is  later ; inscriptions. 
Otto  or  Otho  was  bishop  about  1260. 

Hildesheim.  Cathedral.  Double  subject ; angel  carries  an  apple 
in  his  hand. 

Florence.  Bargello  (Carrand).  Two  examples;  foliated  arabesques  ; 
bird  and  lamb  in  centre  of  volute  of  one ; youth  amongst  branches  in 
the  other.  The  staff  of  St.  Ives. 

Hildesheim.  Cathedral.  Staff  of  St  Gothard.  Plain  volute, 
double  whorl  ending  in  unicorn’s  head,  Maltese  cross  in  mouth. 

Metz.  Cathedral.  Staff  of  first  bishop  of  Metz ; volute  carried 
twice  round,  decorated  with  small  leaves  and  buds. 

London.  British  Museum.  French.  Staff  of  St.  Bernard;  cockatrice 
biting  serpent’s  tongue ; formerly  thickly  set  with  gems,  of  which  the 
settings  only  remain. 

London.  British  Museum.  English.  Ox  of  St.  Luke  in  volute 
ending  in  serpent’s  head. 

London.  Kensington  Museum.  German.  Elaborately  carved  with 
many  figures  ; a remarkable  example.  Twelfth  ? century. 

Oxford.  Ashmolean  Museum.  English.  Dragon  and  lamb. 

St.  Petersburg.  Basilewski  collection.  Three  examples ; ram  in 
centre ; dragon’s  head  ends. 

FOURTEENTH  CENTURY 

Paris.  Louvre.  Known  as  staff  of  St.  Robert.  Double  subject ; 
foliated  crockets.  St.  Robert  founded  abbey  of  Molesmes  in  eleventh 
century. 

London.  Kensington  Museum.  Double  subject ; three  examples. 

London.  Kensington  Museum.  Virgin  and  Child  and  angels ; 
foliated  crockets. 

Metz.  Cathedral.  Double  subject.  The  whole  staff. 

Vienna.  Neuburg  monastery.  Annunciation  above  the  volute ; 
gilt  and  painted. 

Berlin.  Kunst  Kammer.  Double  subject. 

London.  Formerly  in  Beresford  Hope  collection.  Top  of  staff 
carved  with  Annunciation,  dove  descending ; coronation  beneath 
crocheted  arch ; angel  holding  candlestick ; foliaged  volute  with 
statuettes  within  of  our  Lord  and  B.V.M.,  on  whose  head  angel 
places  crown. 

London.  Salting  collection.  Italian.  Two  plaques  with  subjects 
coloured  and  gilt  set  in  silver  volute. 

London.  Pierpont  Morgan  collection.  Double  subject  and  kneel- 
ing angel.  Formerly  in  Mannheim  collection. 

Yorkshire.  Corby  castle.  Described  in  text. 


217 


IVORIES 

London.  British  Museum.  English.  Carved  on  one  side  with 
Crucifixion. 

Munich.  Museum.  Coronation  of  B.V.M. 

Pavia.  Museum.  Pelican  in  her  piety. 

Paris.  Dutuit  collection  of  V.  de  P.  Double  subject. 

Paris.  Jacquinot  Godard  collection.  Described  in  text. 

Paris.  Spitzer  collection  (dispersed).  Double  subject. 

Venice.  St.  Mark’s.  Head  of  a crystal  and  silver-gilt  staff. 

Volterra.  Museum.  In  this  collection,  which  was  sold  in  1880, 
there  was  a very  fine  example,  with  the  staff,  of  the  thirteenth  or  four- 
teenth century,  which  came  from  the  abbey  of  St.  Justus  alle  Baize. 
On  the  octagonal  knop  are  full-length  figures  of  SS.  Peter,  Paul,  and 
the  evangelists.  The  volute  issues  from  a dragon’s  mouth,  forming 
a perfect  circle,  having  nine  foliated  crockets  with  a bust  in  each  of  a 
prophet.  Within  the  volute,  the  baptism  of  our  Lord.  Another,  Italian, 
fourteenth  century,  had  belonged  to  Bend  Aldobrandini,  bishop  of 
Gubbio  in  1331,  and  was  in  its  original  case  of  cuir-bouilli  engraved 
with  three  coats  of  the  arms  of  Aldobrandini  amongst  an  ornament  of 
animals  and  interlacing  foliage.  The  staff  itself  is  composed  of  four 
cylindrical  carved  pieces,  and  on  the  square  knop  the  four  evangelists. 
Within  the  volute,  the  visit  of  the  Magi.  We  have  no  information 
regarding  the  present  ownership,  except  of  the  last,  which,  with  its  case, 
is  now  in  the  Salting  collection. 

FIFTEENTH  CENTURY 

London.  British  Museum.  German.  Lamb  in  centre  of  volute. 

London.  Salting  collection.  Kneeling  bishop.  Described  in  text. 

Brussels.  Nedonchel  collection.  Italian.  Crocheted  volute,  ending 
in  serpent ; within,  the  Annunciation. 

A LIST  AND  SHORT  DESCRIPTION  OF  KNOWN 
EXAMPLES  OF  IVORY  LITURGICAL  COMBS 

SEVENTH  TO  NINTH  CENTURY 

Brussels.  Museum.  The  Stavelot  combs  of  SS.  Remade  and 
Lambert.  Described  in  text. 

Ardennes.  Abbey  of  St.  Hubert.  Comb  of  St.  Hubert.  Described 
in  text. 

Durham.  Cathedral.  Comb  of  St.  Cuthbert.  Double  row,  plain 
band  between. 

Liege.  Diocesan  Museum.  Comb  of  St.  Berthuin.  Persian  work. 
Seventh  or  eighth  century, 

Cologne.  Museum.  Comb  of  St.  Herebert.  Ninth  century? 
Described  in  text.  Tenth  to  eleventh  century? 

Paris.  Spitzer  collection  (dispersed).  Carlovingian.  Semicircular  ; 
centre ; double  row  of  teeth — one  large  and  coarse,  the  other  long , i 
jewelled  ; signs  of  the  Zodiac,  Sagittarius,  and  Capricornus.  Ninth  to  j 
tenth  century.  j 

218  I 


IVORY  LITURGICAL  COMBS 

London.  Salting  collection.  One  side  an  archer,  the  other  set 
with  coloured  glass.  Resembles  the  preceding.  Formerly  in  Heckscher 
collection  ? 

TENTH  TO  THIRTEENTH  CENTURY 

Nuremberg  Nat.  Museum*  One  side  two  doves  drinking  from 
vase ; on  the  other  griffins  affrontes. 

Nancy.  Cathedral.  Comb  of  St.  Gauzelin,  bishop  of  Toul.  De- 
scribed in  text.  Tenth  century. 

Cologne.  Museum.  One  row  of  teeth;  two  horses  adosses;  notched 
for  the  fingers.  Eleventh  century. 

Siegburg.  Museum.  Comb  of  Bishop  Anno  II.  Eleventh  century. 

Bamberg.  Cathedral.  Combs  of  the  Empress  Cunegonda  (2) 
Dogs,  birds  drinking.  Eleventh  century. 

Osnabruck.  Cathedral.  Comb  of  Charlemagne.  Christ  delivering 
the  gospels.  Eleventh  century. 

Elbingen.  Parish  church.  Comb  of  St.  Hildegarde.  Roman 
period.  Race  of  quadrigae.  (St.  Hildegarde  died  1179;  here  placed 
on  account  of  ascription.) 

Auch.  Caneto  collection.  Two  rows  of  teeth;  medallions,  foliations, 
animals.  Eleventh  century. 

Paris.  Louvre.  German.  Samson  and  the  lion. 

Quedlinburg.  Cathedral.  Comb  of  St.  Henry.  Similar  to  Cologne 
combs.  Eleventh  century. 

Augsburg.  Church  of  St.  Ulrich.  Comb  of  St.  Ulrich.  St.  George 
and  dragon.  Tenth  to  eleventh  century. 

Augsburg.  Church  of  St.  Ulrich.  Comb  of  St.  Conrad.  Quite  plain. 

London.  British  Museum.  English.  Described  in  text.  Twelfth 
century. 

Nivelles.  Church.  Comb  of  St.  Gertrude.  Open-worked. 

Sens.  Cathedral.  Comb  of  St.  Loup.  Described  in  text.  Tenth 
to  eleventh  century. 

Gloucestershire.  Hardwicke  Court.  Subjects  from  Scriptures. 
Twelfth  century. 

Reims.  Cathedral.  Comb  of  St.  Bernard.  Figures  of  apostles — 
SS.  Barbe,  Fiacre,  Catherine,  etc.  Thirteenth  century. 

Berlin.  Kunst  Kammer.  Annunciation  and  visit  of  Magi. 

St.  Brieuc.  Cathedral.  Comb  of  St.  William.  Thirteenth  century. 

The  nucleus  of  the  treasure  of  Monza  (Milan),  where  the  iron  crown 
of  Lombardy  is  deposited,  was  formed  by  Queen  Theodolinda.  Her 
comb  of  ivory,  in  a setting  of  silver-gilt  filigree  adorned  with  jewels,  is 
also  there,  and  may  be  included  amongst  liturgical  combs.  A comb  of 
precisely  similar  form,  but  without  the  setting,  is  figured  in  Akermann’s 
Remains  of  Saxon  Pagandom.  It  was  found  in  1771  in  a tomb  on  Barham 
Downs,  near  Canterbury. 


219 


CHAPTER  X 

SECULAR  ART  IN  IVORY  IN  THE  THIRTEENTH, 
FOURTEENTH,  AND  FIFTEENTH  CENTURIES 

UNTIL,  perhaps,  late  in  the  thirteenth  century, 
art  and  the  subjects  on  which  it  was  exercised 
were  still  almost  entirely  in  the  hands  of  the 
Church.  Illustrations  of  purely  secular  scenes  were,  at 
least,  very  infrequent.  For  centuries  Byzantine  in- 
fluences had  prevailed  throughout  the  western  world, 
and  from  the  precincts  of  monasteries  alone  came  forth 
the  dominating  spirit  which  gave  the  tone  to  almost 
every  impulse  of  the  skill  of  the  painter  and  sculptor. 
The  final  defeat  of  the  iconoclasts  would  have  led  us  to 
expect  a still  further  tightening  of  the  bands  which 
restricted  imagery  of  all  kinds  to  religious  requirements, 
and  bound  the  artists  by  the  unyielding  rules  of  Byzan- 
tine hieratism.  But  with  the  ninth  and  tenth  centuries 
came  a taste  and  love  for  classic  models  and  ideas. 
Schools  were  formed  which,  notwithstanding  the  fact 
that  art  for  the  service  of  religion  still  reigned  almost 
alone,  began,  nevertheless,  to  introduce  a form  of  treat- 
ment based  on  an  imitation  of  classical  styles,  and  even 
disguised  the  holy  personages  under  the  names  and 
with  the  attributes  of  the  deities  and  emblems  of 
heathen  mythology.  We  have  in  miniatures  of  the 
time,  for  example,  the  youthful  David  in  classical  i 
costume  playing  on  his  harp,  while  near  him  is  seated  ! 
220 


SECULAR  ART  IN  IVORY 

the  goddess  of  Melody;  or  the  prophet  Isaiah  is  accom- 
panied by  mythological  figures  representing  Night  and 
the  Dawn.  Such  representations — and  they  are  many 
— are  in  evident  imitation  of  the  antique,  from  still 
existing  frescoes  and  wall-paintings,  no  doubt.  As  a 
matter  of  fact,  it  is  not  a little  difficult  sometimes  to 
recognise  in  them  the  biblical  episodes  to  which  they 
refer,  and  the  symbolism  is  equally  cryptic. 

At  the  same  periods  we  find  amongst  our  ivories  in  the 
numerous  Byzantine  caskets  of  the  ninth  to  the  twelfth 
centuries  the  decoration  almost  entirely  confined  to  such 
subjects  as  Europa  and  the  bull,  Orpheus  with  his  lyre, 
Achilles,  or  Hercules,  amorini,  centaurs,  and  the  like. 
These,  however,  have  no  connection  with  religious  sym- 
bolism. The  literature  of  pagan  times  and  mythological 
stories  had  evidently,  in  one  way  or  another,  acquired  a 
high  popularity,  no  less  in  the  west  than  in  the  east. 
Later  on,  when  Byzantine  influence  has  ceased  to  exer- 
cise its  sway  on  western  art,  when  its  traditions  are 
abandoned,  and  when,  in  the  thirteenth  and  fourteenth 
centuries  especially,  a freer  spirit  prevails,  we  shall  still 
meet  the  stories  of  Pyramus  and  Thisbe,  of  Alexander, 
of  Romulus  and  Remus,  and  many  others  flourishing- 
side  by  side  with  the  mediaeval  romances  which  then 
become  so  popular.  Especially  is  this  the  case  with  the 
caskets,  mirror  cases,  combs,  and  other  articles  of 
domestic  use  and  adornment.  The  use  of  ivory  for 
such  things  was  universal,  and  while  we  are  more  rich 
in  fine  examples  of  religious  art  in  ivory  of  the  thir- 
teenth, and  especially  of  the  fourteenth  centuries,  than 
of  any  other  period,  we  are  none  the  less  so  in  those 
which  were  not  confined  to  church  and  other  devotional 
purposes.  The  constitutions  of  the  various  guilds  and 
corporations  of  the  period  make  frequent  mention  of 
ivory  workers.  For  instance,  in  the  Livre  des  Metiers 
of  the  city  of  Paris,  in  1258,  there  were  three  corpora- 
tions to  which  the  right  was  given  to  work  in  ivory. 


221 


IVORIES 

Beginning  with  caskets,  we  must,  in  a few  instances, 
go  back  to  the  time  to  which  we  have  referred  when 
there  was  a revival  amongst  the  Byzantine  artists,  or, 
more  correctly,  an  imitation  of  classical  work  and 
design.  There  are  few,  if  any,  finer  examples  of  this 
kind  than  the  casket  in  the  South  Kensington  Museum 
(No.  2i6’65),  formerly  in  the  treasury  of  the  cathedral 
of  Veroli.  It  is  a rectangular  wooden  casket  overlaid 
with  ivory  plaques,  about  sixteen  inches  long  by  six 
inches  wide,  and  was  acquired  in  1865  for  ^^420. 
We  have  in  the  ornamentation  the  stories  of  Europa, 
of  Orpheus,  and  of  Pegasus,  with  figures  of  centaurs, 
lions,  Bacchus  in  a car  drawn  by  leopards,  sea  monsters, 
and  groups  and  figures  of  many  kinds.  The  borders 
are  narrow,  with  a small  pierced  ornament  on  their 
edges,  and  between  them  rosettes  and  profile  heads  in 
low  relief,  with  scrolls  and  foliated  terminations.  There 
are  other  examples  of  this  fashion  of  copying  antique 
styles  ascribed  to  Italy  in  the  eleventh  and  twelfth 
centuries,  none  perhaps  as  fine  as  this  splendid  casket, 
in  which  the  workmanship  is  so  good  and  the  imita- 
tion so  close  that  it  might  well  be  referred  to  a much 
earlier  date  than  the  eleventh  century,  at  which  it  is 
placed  by  the  best  authorities.  The  carving  is  wonder- 
fully sharp  and  fine,  and  the  piece  is  in  a remarkably 
good  state  of  preservation.  Features  to  be  noticed  are 
the  method  of  rendering  the  hair  by  a mass  of  small 
knobs,  as  we  have  seen,  for  example,  in  the  beautiful 
figure  of  the  angel  in  the  diptych  of  the  fourth  century. 
And  again,  the  treatment,  quite  oriental,  by  which  the 
whole  decoration  is  sunk,  as  it  were,  so  that  a level 
surface  is  presented  throughout.  We  are  indeed  in- 
clined to  ascribe  caskets  of  this  kind  to  Constantinople 
workmanship  rather  than  to  Italy.  Not  only  so,  but  to 
a much  earlier  date  than  the  eleventh  century. 

There  is  a similar  casket  in  the  museum  at  Brussels, 
not,  however,  equal  to  the  Veroli  casket  in  design  or 


PLATE  XLIV  I CASKET.  BYZANTINE.  B RACMENT.  (CHAIR  ARM?)  BYZANTINE 

CLEVENTl!  CENTUKY  TWEl-KTU  CKNTUKY 


SECULAR  ART  IN  IVORY 

workmanship.  It  is  not  without  interest  to  remark 
that  the  subjects  on  the  top  are  of  a loose  character. 
Examples  of  such  a kind  are  rare  in  ivory  sculpture  of 
the  period,  if,  indeed,  any  others  are  known  to  exist. 
Many  other  caskets  of  the  same  class,  always  with  the 
rosette  or  eight-pointed  leaved-star  borders,  are  to  be 
found  in  Italian  collections  and  museums  at  Ravenna, 
Pisa,  Bologna,  Capo  d’Istria,  and  throughout  Italy;  and 
among  religious  caskets  that  of  the  twelfth  century  in 
the  Bargello,  Florence,  with  the  figures,  interesting  from 
their  costume,  of  SS.  Sergius  and  Bacchus,  has  the 
same  border  of  rosettes.  An  eleventh-century  German 
casket  of  bone,  mounted  with  copper  gilt,  in  the  Ken- 
sington Museum  (No.  2440’ 56)  shows  us  the  interlaced 
scroll  style  of  decoration  which,  later  on,  became  general 
throughout  western  Europe. 

Before  leaving  the  earlier  period,  some  space  must 
be  devoted  to  two  extremely  important  caskets,  both 
of  which  are  probably  the  workmanship  of  our  own 
Northumbrian  artists.  The  first  is  that  known  as  the 
Franks  casket,  now  in  the  British  Museum  ; the  other 
is  in  the  museum  at  Brunswick.  It  may  be  as  well  to 
begin  with  what  information  we  have  of  the  history  of 
the  British  Museum  casket ; unfortunately  this  is  but 
scanty.  It  was  found  some  years  ago  by  the  late  Sir 
Augustus  Franks,  the  distinguished  archaeologist,  whose 
generous  gifts  to  the  nation  have  been  so  many  and  so 
valuable,  at  a dealer’s  in  Paris.  It  appears  that  it  had 
been  some  time  in  the  possession  of  a well-to-do  family 
in  the  department  of  the  Haute-Loire,  and  was  used  as 
a work-box  by  the  ladies  of  the  household.  It  was  not 
much  valued  by  them,  and  portions  had  been  thrown 
away  and  lost.  The  importance  and  interest  were,  how- 
ever, at  once  recognised  by  (the  then)  Mr.  Franks,  who 
acquired  it  at  a high  price  and  most  liberally  presented 
it  to  the  museum. 

This  casket— unfortunately  somewhat  damaged  and 

223 


IVORIES 

imperfect,  for  the  fourth  side  is  almost  entirely  wanting 
— is  of  bone,  probably  the  shoulder-blade  of  a whale. 
It  is  carved  over  the  whole  surface  in  sharp  and  clear 
relief,  with  curious  mythical  and  scriptural  subjects, 
somewhat  difficult  to  recognise  in  some  cases,  so  crude 
and  childlike  is  the  drawing.  The  arrangement,  how- 
ever, and  the  runic  lettering  are  distinctly  decorative. 
The  scenes  are  in  panels,  each  of  which  bears  a runic 
inscription,  except  the  top  panel,  on  which  is  one 
word  only,  “^gili,”  and  on  the  back,  in  one  corner, 
“DOM  GiSL.”  One  panel  represents  the  story  of  Romulus 
and  Remus,  and  the  runic  inscription,  so  far  as  it  can 
be  deciphered,  would  appear  to  run  as  follows  : “Were 
exposed  — close  together — Romwalus — Reumwalus — 
twins — then  a she  wolf — Romecaster”;  or,  to  give  even 
the  quaint  wording  as  a specimen  of  the  language 
familiar  to  our  Northumbrian  ancestors,  “ Odlaeum — 
neg — Romwalus  — Reumwalus  — twaegen  gibrodae  — 
feddae — hiae — wulif — Romaecaestri.”  The  myth  was 
well  known  in  classical  and  mediaeval  times.  We  have 
already  referred  to  the  Rambona  diptych,  in  which  it  ap- 
pears beneath  the  Crucifixion,  the  name  Remus,  spelt,  in 
much  the  same  way,  Reniulus.  On  the  front  panel  is 
the  storming  of  Jerusalem,  the  warriors  wearing  scale 
armour  with  conical  helmets  and  nasals.  The  inhabit- 
ants are  leaving  the  city,  and  an  inscription  in  Anglo- 
Saxon  characters  tells  us  that  “hic  fugiant  Jerusalem.” 
On  the  back  we  have  the  delivery  of  the  head  of  St.  John 
the  Baptist  and  the  visit  of  the  Magi,  as  we  learn  from 
the  inscriptions. 

The  principal  inscription  records  in  verse  the  capture 
of  the  whale,  and  has  been  interpreted  ; — 

“ The  whale’s  bones  from  the  fishes’  floods 

I lifted  on  Fergen  Hill ; ! 

He  was  dashed  to  death  in  his  gambols, 

As  aground  he  swam  in  the  shallows.” 

The  name  Fergen  has  been  identified  with  what  is  now  i 

224  I 


VLATE  XL\- 


I.  FRONT  OF  RUNIC  CASKET. 
Brit'sh  Hh'scnn: 


2.  SIDE  OF  RUNIC  CA.SKET 

Byiinsiii’ck  Muscitni 


Il 


SECULAR  ART  IN  IVORY 

Ferry  Hill,  in  the  county  of  Durham,  so  that  we  may 
take  it  that  it  was  a prehistoric  whale. 

Many  conjectures  have  been  hazarded,  and  many 
fantastic  stories  woven  around  this  casket,  especially  by 
the  Rev.  D.  H.  Haigh,  who  first  commented  upon  it 
when  it  was  discovered.  He  connects  the  words  Dom 
Gisl  with  a king  of  Spain  named  Agila,  who  was  slain 
at  Cordoba  in  the  year  554.  He  was  the  grandfather 
of  the  wife  of  the  famous  Chilperic,  and  it  would  seem 
that  Chilperic  sent  an  envoy  into  Spain  whose  name 
was  Domegiselus ; in  other  words,  Gisl,  who  made  and 
signed  his  name  on  the  casket.  There  is,  of  course, 
nothing  to  prevent  anyone  else  from  constructing  a 
similar  hypothesis.  The  casket  remains  full  of  interest, 
and  although  in  the  opinion  of  some  it  is  to  be  referred 
to  Scandinavian  workmanship,  there  would  appear  to 
be  more  reason  for  the  idea  that  it  was  made  by  a 
Northumbrian  artist  for  English  people.  A casket  of 
similar  style,  no  doubt  also  of  like  origin,  is  in  the  Bar- 
gello  at  Florence  (photograph  in  Art  Library,  Kensington, 
No.  1354-1900).  With  regard  to  the  date,  the  learned 
author  of  the  catalogue  of  ancient  and  mediaeval  ivories 
in  the  museum  at  Kensington  states  definitely  that  it  is 
of  the  eighth  century;  but  a careful  comparison  with  the 
style  and  ornament  of  the  caskets  next  to  be  described, 
the  animals  with  interlacing  bodies,  the  armour  worn 
by  the  soldiers,  and  the  decoration  of  runic,  Scotch,  and 
Irish  monuments  in  stone,  may  at  least  leave  it  open  to 
doubt  whether  it  should  not  rather  be  referred,  with  these 
other  caskets,  to  the  eleventh  or  twelfth  century. 

No  less  interesting,  from  the  same  point  of  view — 
for  a Northumbrian  origin  is  also  claimed  for  it — and 
more  beautiful,  is  the  runic  casket  in  the  Royal  Museum 
at  Brunswick.  It  is  of  quadrangular  form,  with  a roof- 
shaped top,  made  of  thin  plates  of  walrus  ivory  set  in 
slips  of  bronze.  The  ornamentation  which  fills  the 
panels  is  of  beautiful  design  and  execution  ; for  the 
Q 225 


IVORIES 

most  part  interlaced  work  springing  from  the  prolonged 
tails  of  gryphons  and  lizards — each  reptile  occupying  a 
separate  compartment — together  with  the  spiral  orna- 
ment in  the  calligraphic  style  peculiar  to  Anglo-Saxon 
and  early  northern  work.  The  borders  are  also  very 
beautiful  and  unusual,  but  the  variety  is  so  great  that 
it  would  be  necessary  to  illustrate  the  whole  in  order 
to  give  a clear  idea. 

On  the  otherwise  plain  plaque  on  the  bottom  is  the 
runic  inscription,  twice  repeated,  which  has  been  read 
as  follows;  “Wrote  this  (carved)  Nethii,  for  the  most 
noble  yEli  in  Montpellier  of  Gaul,”  and  from  this  the 
following  story  has  been  evolved  by  Professor  Stephens. 
Towards  the  end  of  the  sixth  century  there  was  at 
Limoges  a famous  sculptor  or  art  workman  named 
Eligius.  He  was  the  hero  of  many  popular  tales,  and, 
giving  up  his  art  to  become  a priest,  was  eventually 
consecrated  bishop  of  Tournay,  and  died  in  the  middle 
of  the  seventh  century.  In  France  he  is  known  as  St. 
Eloi,  patron  saint  of  goldsmiths.  Then,  it  would  seem 
that  he  had  an  English  foreman  in  his  employ  who  had 
been  sold  as  a slave  into  Gaul.  This  Englishman  was 
converted,  became  a wondrous  artist,  a monk,  and 
eventually  a saint — St.  Tillo,  or,  in  France,  St.  Theau. 
All  this  we  may  find  in  Dr.  Maitland’s  charming  book. 
The  Dark  Ages. 

It  is  always  extremely  difficult  to  assign  a date  to  a 
work  and  ornamentation  of  this  kind,  or  to  lay  down 
with  any  certainty  the  country  of  origin.  We  have  here 
an  extremely  beautiful  casket  of  exquisite  design  and 
workmanship,  and  there  would  seem  to  be  no  reason 
why  it  should  not  be  ascribed  to  Northumbrian  art  of 
the  ninth  to  the  eleventh  centuries.  It  is  northern 
work,  and  the  style  of  ornament  was  by  no  means  con- 
fined to  any  particular  locality.  The  spiral  interlacements 
are  frequent  in  Irish  MSS.,  and  it  will  be  interesting 
also  to  compare  the  decoration  with  that  on  the  famous 
226 


SECULAR  ART  IN  IVORY 

chessmen  of  walrus  ivory  found  in  the  island  of  Lewis, 
in  Scotland,  which  will  presently  be  described  and  illus- 
trated. 

The  runic  inscription — “ Urit  Nethii  Sigyor  Aeli  in 
Mungpaelyo  Gaelica” — has  been  variously  read  and 
interpreted.  The  application  of  the  word  Mungpaelyo 
to  Montpelier,  in  France,  is  more  than  doubtful,  and  the 
connection  with  Eligius  scarcely  more  than  guesswork. 
However  this  may  be,  our  principal  interest  is  in  the 
beautiful  decoration,  the  system  of  calligraphic  ornament, 
mixed  with  fabulous  animals,  which  is  so  characteristic 
of  Anglo-Saxon  manuscripts,  and  of  certain  sculptured 
monuments  of  the  ninth  to  the  twelfth  century. 

Two  more  interesting  caskets  with  a similar  character 
of  ornament  remain  to  be  noticed.  The  first,  known  as 
the  casket  of  Cunegunda,  of  the  tenth  or  eleventh  cen- 
tury, is  in  the  Bavarian  National  Museum  at  Munich. 
The  plaques  of  morse  ivory  of  which  it  is  composed 
are  decorated  in  low  relief  with  grotesque  animals  of  a 
runic  character,  and  are  set  in  a framing  of  oak,  bound 
together  with  metal  bands.  The  second  casket,  that  of 
St.  Cordula,  in  the  cathedral  of  Cammin,  in  Pomerania, 
is  of  bone,  bound  in  a similar  way  to  the  first.  We 
have  here  again  the  long-tailed  grotesque  animals  that 
we  find  on  the  Brunswick  casket  with  the  characteristic 
interlacements  of  Scandinavian  and  other  northern  art. 
Casts  of  both  are  in  the  Kensington  Museum  (Nos. 
442’73  and  59’72). 

We  come  now  to  an  entirely  different  class  of  decora- 
tion, very  prevalent,  especially  throughout  the  fourteenth 
century,  in  most  western  countries,  on  such  objects  as 
small  boxes  and  caskets  for  toilet  use,  mirror  cases, 
writing  tablets,  combs,  and  the  like.  An  era  of  romance 
had  set  in,  and  the  pious  legends  and  illustrations  of 
scriptural  narratives,  which  before  had  formed  the  ex- 
clusive source  of  inspiration  for  the  sculptor  in  ivory, 
the  painter  and  the  miniaturist  of  illuminated  manu- 

227 


IVORIES 

scripts,  had  to  give  way  before  the  charm  of  the  wonder- 
ful allegories  and  romantic  stories  which  supplied  the 
artist  with  endless  themes. 

These  famous  romances  were  drawn  from  several 
sources.  The  history  of  King  Arthur  and  the  Knights 
of  the  Round  Table  was  particularly  in  vogue.  Then 
there  were  the  classical  romances,  amongst  which  were 
two  very  favourite  and  amusing  stories,  in  which  such 
ancient  heroes  as  Alexander  and  Virgil  played  curious 
parts,  and  people  delighted  in  being  shown  how  they 
were  made  fools  of  by  women.  And  there  were  the 
histories  of  Valentine  and  Orson,  of  Lancelot  du  Lac 
and  the  quest  of  the  Sangreal,  of  the  loves  of  Tristan 
and  Yseult,  of  Queen  Guinever,  of  Ysaie  le  triste  the 
knight  of  the  woeful  countenance,  the  stories  of  Merlin, 
of  Perceval,  of  Meliachus,  of  Perceforest,  the  Fountain 
of  Youth,  of  the  Chastelaine  de  Vergi  (there  is  a fine 
casket  with  this  story  in  the  Louvre  and  another  in  the 
Pierpont  Morgan  collection),  and  many  other  popular 
romances  and  allegories  both  in  prose  and  verse.  And, 
indeed,  are  not  these  names  almost  as  familiar  and  as 
popular  amongst  us,  under  other  forms  perhaps,  in  our 
modern  times  ? A favourite  story  was  one  from  which 
the  subject  on  a large  number  of  the  mirror  cases  was 
taken.  The  Romance  of  the  Rose  was  a long  allegorical 
poem  which  Chaucer  made  familiar  in  England  by  his 
translation.  From  it  was  derived  the  very  popular 
theme  which  we  shall  find  illustrated,  in  one  way  or 
another,  over  and  over  again — the  assault  on  the  Castle 
of  Love.  This  famous  poem,  which  was  intended  to 
be  looked  upon  with  the  mind  framed  to  extract  from 
it  the  mystical  morality  which  its  lines  enclosed,  was 
indeed  full  of  scholastic  subtleties.  If  the  people,  then, 
saw  in  it  only  a plain  everyday  romantic  story,  it  is 
no  more  than  has  happened  to  it  since,  and  to  other 
allegorical  or  satirical  compositions.  It  was  written 
about  the  year  1300  by  Guillaume  de  Lorris  and 
228 


SECULAR  ART  IN  IVORY 

Jean  de  Meung,  and  was  frequently  moralised.  One 
extract  from  the  Early  English  translation  by  Robert 
Grosseteste,  bishop  of  Lincoln,  relating  to  the  episode 
most  frequently  illustrated  in  the  ivories,  will  suffice  : — 

“ This  is  the  castel  of  love  and  lisse, 

Of  solace,  of  socour,  of  joye  and  blisse. 

Of  hope,  of  hele,  of  sikernesse, 

And  ful  of  alle  swetnesse.” 

In  this  romance,  according  to  some  of  the  moralists, 
we  are  to  see  the  rose  to  be  the  personification  of  the 
Virgin  Mary ; the  towers  and  defences  of  the  castle  are 
the  four  cardinal  virtues,  with  chastity,  buxomness,  and 
meekness. 

But  besides  the  subjects  supplied  by  these  famous 
romances,  we  shall  find  also  some  very  delightful  and 
interesting  illustrations  of  the  domestic  life  of  the  time. 
Most  valuable  and  curious  are  the  details  which  we  may 
gather  from  them  of  the  occupations,  the  sports  and 
pastimes,  the  costumes  and  general  habits  of  the  people, 
great  and  small,  the  nobles,  the  knights,  the  courtiers, 
and  the  ladies  and  gentlemen  of  these  most  interesting 
periods.  They  occur  so  often,  that  except  in  one  or  two 
instances,  it  will  be  scarcely  necessary  in  noticing  a few 
of  these  pictures  to  refer  particularly  to  any  special 
subject.  A short  resume  of  some  of  those  which  occur 
most  frequently  on  the  caskets,  combs,  or  mirror  cases 
may,  however,  be  useful. 

Tournament  scenes  are  common,  either  in  a general 
niMee  of  knights  in  full  armour,  or  before  the  Castle  of 
Love,  where  the  knights  are  encouraged  by  ladies  on  the 
battlements,  who  shower  down  roses  on  their  favourites; 
or  the  knights  are  themselves  fighting  each  other  with 
branches  of  roses.  Then  we  have  such  scenes  as  a 
hawking  party;  a lady  and  gentleman  playing  chess;  a 
pair  of  lovers  riding  in  a wood  (the  lady  rides  astride); 
a priest  hearing  a confession  ; two  lovers  embracing,  a 
cowled  monk  approaching  from  some  trees  near  by  and 

229 


IVORIES 

holding  up  his  hand  in  warning ; Cupid  crowned  and 
shooting  his  arrows  at  a couple  making  love ; a lover 
and  a lady  out  walking  with  a lap-dog ; a lady  and 
gentleman  tenderly  kissing  each  other  as  they  ride 
through  a wood;  a gentleman  in  a cote-hardie  and  long 
pointed  shoes,  presenting  with  one  hand  a heart  to  a 
lady,  while  with  the  other  he  half  draws  a dagger  from 
its  sheath  ; a lady  and  gentleman  both  sitting  on  the 
ground  in  a wood,  as  if  resting  after  hawking,  he  with 
a hawk  on  his  wrist,  she  teaching  a little  dog  to  sit  up  ; 
and  so  on,  the  list  could  be  enlarged  to  an  almost  un- 
limited extent.  One  may  look  at  these  things  as  the 
Punches  or  Charivaris  of  the  epoch,  but  they  require  no 
letterpress  to  tell  their  stories.  There  can  be  no  mis- 
taking the  amiable  flirtation  in  which  the  lady  and 
gentleman  are  engaged,  even  if  he  were  not,  as  in  some 
cases,  chucking  her  under  the  chin.  And,  after  all,  it  is 
always  more  artistic  to  tell  a story  without  the  necessity 
of  labelling,  and  even  to  leave  something  for  the  imagi- 
nation. 

Very  interesting  are  the  realistic  representations  of 
the  costumes  of  the  times  which  we  obtain — the  long 
loose  gowns  of  the  ladies  covering  their  feet,  and  with 
narrow  sleeves  hanging  from  the  elbows ; the  tight 
tunics  of  the  gentlemen  buttoned  down  the  front  with 
innumerable  little  buttons,  the  hoods  and  tippets,  and 
the  liripipe  hanging  down  their  backs  from  the  former, 
the  scalloped  sleeves,  the  long  peaked  shoes,  and  the 
exaggeration  of  all  this  in  the  outi'C  dress  of  the  time 
of  Richard  II. 

A beautiful  casket  in  the  Kensington  Museum  (No. 
i46’66),  acquired  in  1866  for  ^296,  has  no  less  than 
thirteen  panels  with  bronze  mountings  which  resume 
in  an  excellent  way  a number  both  of  classical,  alle- 
gorical, and  romantic  subjects.  We  have  on  it  a tourna- 
ment, the  assault  on  the  Castle  of  Love,  Cupid  shooting 
his  arrows,  the  fable  of  the  unicorn,  and  the  romance  of 
230 


CASKE'J'S  WITH  ROMANCE  SUBJl-XTS.  I'RKXCH 

I'OUK  TKHN  I H CKNTL  UV 


PLATE  XLVI 


■^%r 


rLA'IE  XLVIl 


CASKET.  FRENCH 
fifteenth  CENTUKY 


SECULAR  ART  IN  IVORY 

Lancelot.  Then  there  is  the  story  of  Tristan,  where 
Tristan  disguised  as  a beggar  carries  Yseult  across  the 
water  on  his  back;  and  the  Fountain  of  Youth,  with  men 
and  women  bathing  together  under  a fountain,  while 
three  old  people  are  approaching  with  halting  steps. 
There  is  the  story  of  Aristotle  instructing  the  king,  and 
again  the  amusing  and  very  favourite  episode  of  the 
princess  riding  on  the  back  of  this  philosopher,  whom 
she  has  subdued  by  her  charms.  He  has  a bridle  in 
his  mouth,  crawls  on  his  hands  and  knees,  and  is  being 
whipped  by  the  lady.  The  king  is  looking  out  of  a 
window  in  a tower  and  pointing  to  the  figures  beneath. 

A curious  example  of  the  use  to  which  such  caskets 
as  those  we  have  been  describing  has  been  put  is  the 
one  with  love  scenes  in  four  compartments,  which  con- 
tains the  foot  of  St.  Ursula  in  the  cathedral  at  Cologne, 
where  are  preserved  also  the  bones  of  her  eleven  thou- 
sand virgins. 

Italian  caskets  of  bone  of  the  fifteenth  century,  which 
were  generally  marriage  caskets,  are  plentiful  in  most 
museums  and  great  collections.  They  are  usually  of 
hexagonal  form,  the  covers  brought  up  from  the  sides 
in  a dome  shape  to  a point,  and  inlaid  with  marquetry 
of  stained  woods.  Bone  was  very  frequently  used  in 
Italy  instead  of  ivory,  and  as  a rule  most  bone  carvings 
of  these  periods  are  Italian.  Ivory  was  scarce  and 
costly,  but  it  must  not  be  concluded  that  the  work- 
manship of  these  coffers  was  any  the  less  fine  on  account 
of  the  inferior  material.  On  the  contrary,  many  of  them, 
as  well  as  the  numerous  predellas  and  triptychs  of  a 
similar  kind,  show  that  the  best  artists  must  have  been 
employed  upon  them.  Most  of  the  subjects  are  executed 
by  means  of  several  pieces  of  bone  arranged  as  has 
already  been  described,  and  to  take  one  collection  only 
— that  at  Kensington — there  is  considerable  variety  in 
form  and  decoration.  The  subjects  are  generally  from 
the  romances  ; for  example,  on  that  acquired  by  the 

231 


IVORIES 

museum  from  the  Soulages  collection,  we  have  the 
history  of  Pyramus  and  Thisbe,  the  lion,  the  fountain, 
and  the  whispering  through  the  wall,  with  which 
Shakespeare  has  made  us  familiar. 

A very  good  example  of  English  caskets  carved  with 
domestic  scenes  is  No.  264’67  at  Kensington.  We  have 
here  the  pointed  arches  and  crocheted  pediments  of  the 
period  ; a hawking  party,  in  which  the  gentlemen  are  in 
the  close-fitting  buttoned  tunics,  with  hoods  and  liri- 
pipes,  their  belts  very  low  down  across  the  hips  ; the 
ladies  with  long  narrow  sleeves  hanging  from  the  elbows, 
of  the  time  of  Edward  III.  On  other  panels  people 
are  amusing  themselves  in  a garden,  playing  on  musical 
instruments,  at  chess,  and  so  on — a garden  party  of  the 
period. 

What  are  known  as  mirror  cases  have  also  come 
down  to  us  in  considerable  quantities,  to  be  found  in 
most  collections.  The  shape  is  nearly  always  the  same 
— round,  from  about  four  to  six  inches  in  diameter,  and 
in  pairs  so  as  to  shut  up  like  modern  pocket  mirrors. 
But  in  order  to  make  them  easier  to  hold,  and  perhaps 
to  be  stood  upright,  they  are  often  given  a more  square 
form  by  the  addition  of  four  crockets,  either  of  leaves  or 
of  lions  or  monstrous  animals.  Ancient  mirrors  were 
generally  metallic,  but  the  use  of  glass  with  lead  at  the 
back  had  probably  come  in  about  the  time  most  of  our 
ivory  ones  were  made.  These  hand  or  pocket  mirrors 
are  certainly  not  large,  but  there  are  no  examples  of  ivory 
framings  to  any  larger  kind  ; and  we  find  them  of  pre- 
cisely this  shape  and  size,  sometimes  attached  to  the 
girdle  by  chains  of  silver  and  gold,  being  used  by  ladies 
at  their  toilet  in  manuscripts  of  the  fourteenth  century. 
In  the  manuscript  romance  of  Lancelot  du  Lac,  in  the 
British  Museum,  a lady  lying  on  a couch  holds  the 
mirror  in  her  hand  whilst  an  attendant  dresses  her  hair 
with  a comb.  In  another  she  is  using  both  mirror  and 
comb.  They  are  also  often  mentioned  in  inventories  of 
232 


SECULAR  ART  IN  IVORY 

the  fourteenth  century.  Eustache  Deschamps,  Jiuissiev 
d'armes  to  Charles  V.,  speaks  poetically  in  a pleasant 
reference  to  the  exigencies  and  necessities  of  high-born 
ladies  of  his  time,  and  of  the  expensive  objects  in  ivory 
required  for  their  toilet : — 

“ Pique,  tressoir  semblablement 
Et  miroir  pour  moy  ordonner 
D’yvoire  me  devez  dormer 

Et  I’estuy  qui  soit  noble  et  gent 
Pendu  h.  cheannes  d’argent,” 

We  seldom  find  both  pieces  of  a mirror  case.  As  it 
was  usual  to  decorate  only  one  side,  the  other  was, 
perhaps,  not  thought  worth  keeping ; but,  of  course, 
it  may  be  that  some  of  the  decorated  ones  which 
we  have  are  pairs.  The  most  common  subject  on  a 
mirror  case  is  the  assault  of  the  Castle  of  Love.  It 
was  treated  in  various  ways,  but  a description  of  one  of 
the  finest  mirror  cases  known  (No.  i6’55  at  Kensing- 
ton) will  suffice.  It  is  French,  of  the  fourteenth  century, 
and  measures  five  inches  in  diameter.  We  have  the 
front  of  the  castle  with  the  portcullised  gateway.  Several 
knights  in  full  armour  have  arrived  on  caparisoned 
horses,  and  have  commenced  the  attack,  but  the  ladies 
on  the  lower  battlemented  parapet  offer  no  resistance. 
On  the  contrary,  they  are  welcoming  the  intruders,  some 
of  whom  are  gaining  an  entry  by  means  of  a rope  ladder, 
others  by  standing  on  the  pommels  of  their  saddles  and 
being  helped  up  by  their  companions.  Those  who  have 
reached  the  battlements  are  embracing  the  ladies  of  their 
choice  with  great  vigour.  In  a balcony  above,  with  a 
trefoiled  balustrade.  Love  as  a seraph  with  four  wings 
strikes  with  his  arrows  two  ladies,  whilst  two  others  are 
pensively  meditating — on  the  watch,  no  doubt,  for  their 
own  knights.  The  attitudes  and  expressions  throughout 
are  charming,  and  the  composition  extremely  well 
arranged  and  spirited.  The  date  may  be  fairly  identi- 
fied by  the  shoulder-pieces  on  the  armour  of  the  knights. 

233 


IVORIES 

These  curious  additions  bore,  emblazoned  upon  them, 
the  arms  of  their  owners.  The  fashion  was  not  of  long 
duration,  and  disappeared  entirely  early  in  the  reign  of 
Edward  III.  This  very  fine  example  was  exhibited  at 
the  Society  of  Antiquaries  in  1808  by  Mr.  Richard 
Haynes,  to  whom  it  then  belonged.  In  the  short  account 
accompanying  the  exhibition  it  is  called  a curious  bas- 
relief  in  ivory,  and  there  is  no  reference  to  mirror  cases. 

A common  subject  on  mirror  cases  and  caskets  is 
the  adventures  of  Huon  de  Bordeaux,  where  the  hero 
plays  a game  of  backgammon,  the  stakes  between  the 
players  being  the  lady’s  virtue  against  the  head  of  the 
other.  Or,  again,  that  of  the  Chastelaine  de  Vergi, 
which  appears  on  the  mirror  case  here  illustrated. 

A very  unusual  example  is  figured  in  the  Revue 
Archdologique  for  1857,  and  described  by  M.  Guene- 
bault.  A knight  has  been  arrested,  and  is  being  con- 
ducted to  the  fortress  or  prison  which  appears  in  the 
background  with  its  gates  and  towers  The  shape  of 
the  case  is  rather  oval  than  round,  and  the  corners  are 
four  grotesque  faces.  It  would  appear  probable  that  it 
depicts  an  incident  in  the  life  of  St.  Louis.  It  is  French 
of  the  thirteenth  or  fourteenth  century,  but  we  have  no 
information  whence  it  came  in  1857,  and  where  it  now 
may  be.  One  of  the  latest  to  be  added  to  the  British 
Museum  is  half  of  one  valve,  exhibited  at  the  Society 
of  Antiquaries  in  1902  (Proc.,  vol.  xix.).  The  details  of 
the  suits  of  mail  worn  by  the  knights  who  completely 
fill  the  lower  part  are  very  interesting.  The  style  of 
the  upper  portion  recalls  the  casket  with  the  story  of 
Aristotle,  but  on  the  whole  it  has  an  English  character. 

The  fashion  of  these  mirror  cases  and  the  favourite 
subject  of  the  Castle  of  Love  continued  throughout 
the  fifteenth  century,  but  the  style  of  armour  and  the 
costumes  naturally  changed  somewhat.  There  is  a very 
beautiful  example  in  the  Wallace  Museum,  which  was 
formerly  in  the  Fountaine  collection.  One  valve  shows 
234 


PLATE  XLVin  MIRROR  CASES.  FRENCH 

FOURTEENTH  CENTURY 


PLATE  jWSW 


MIRROR  CASE.  (BOTH 

fifteenth  CENTL'RV. 


VALVES.)  FRENCH 
f Wallace  Collection) 


SECULAR  ART  IN  IVORY 

the  assault  on  the  castle,  or  rather  the  capitulation  of 
the  ladies,  one  of  whom  rides  forth  from  under  the 
portcullis,  bearing  roses  in  her  arms.  The  subject  of 
the  other  is  a tournament  of  knights  in  the  presence  of 
a bevy  of  noble  ladies.  The  execution  is  sharper  than 
in  earlier  examples,  very  delicately,  yet  vigorously  carved, 
the  faces  of  the  figures  especially  careful  in  the  minute 
details.  The  backgrounds  are  guilloched,  as  became  the 
fashion  in  work  of  this  period.  An  interesting  detail 
is  that  one  of  the  attacking  knights  is  firing  a cross- 
bow loaded  with  flowers  at  the  ladies  on  the  battle- 
ments above.  New  styles  came  in  with  the  sixteenth 
century,  and  we  have  a shield-shaped  mirror,  with  a 
handle,  in  the  Louvre.  The  back  is  carved  with  ladies 
and  gentlemen  in  the  costume  of  Louis  XII.,  one  of  the 
latter  presenting  his  heart  to  his  mistress  in  quite  the 
old  style.  The  mirror  itself  is  of  polished  steel. 

Ivory  has  naturally  been  a favourite  material  for 
toilet  combs  of  all  descriptions  from  very  early  times. 
There  are  ivory  combs  in  the  Nineveh  collection  of  the 
Louvre.  Several  of  them  are  ornamented  with  lions 
and  winged  human-headed  lions.  An  early  one  found 
at  Pompeii  is  in  the  British  Museum,  and  is  made  to 
shut  up  like  a modern  pocket-comb.  Another  from 
Pompeii  in  the  Boocke  collection  is  of  the  double-tooth 
kind,  very  large,  and  carved  with  the  three  Graces,  Venus 
and  Cupids,  and  there  are  two  fine  Roman  combs  of  the 
first  to  the  fourth  century  in  the  museum  at  Liverpool. 
Three,  which  were  found  in  1771  in  the  tomb  of  a woman 
at  Kingston,  near  Canterbury,  are  also  in  the  Mayer 
collection  of  the  same  museum.  They  are  identical  in 
shape  with  that  of  Queen  Theodolinda  at  Monza.  In 
the  excavation  of  a Piet’s  house  at  Kettleburn,  Caithness, 
a curious  bone  comb  in  the  shape  of  the  hand  and  part 
of  the  arm  was  found. 

There  are  some  beautiful  examples  of  combs  of  the 
fourteenth  and  fifteenth  centuries  in  the  Kensington 

23s 


IVORIES 

Museum,  for  the  most  part  in  a surprisingly  good  state 
of  preservation,  the  ivory  pure  white,  and  the  carving 
perfectly  clean  and  sharp. 

The  favourite  subjects  for  combs  at  this  period 
appear  to  have  been  either  the  story  of  David  and 
Bathsheba,  or  else  the  romance  of  the  Fountain  of  Youth, 
both  of  them  very  appropriate.  There  are  others ; for 
example,  at  Kensington,  a beautiful  Italian  comb  of  the 
fourteenth  century,  with  groups  of  figures,  some  playing 
the  fiddle,  tambourine,  or  hand-organ,  others  talking 
and  embracing,  and  one  curious  group  where  a crowned 
figure,  quite  naked,  is  blindfolded.  It  has  been  coloured, 
as  is  the  case  with  several  others.  In  an  English  comb 
of  the  sixteenth  century  the  costumes  are  of  Elizabeth’s 
time.  On  one  side  there  is  a large  battlemented  house 
with  groups  of  figures  ; on  the  other  the  same  house 
with  a flag  flying,  a church,  and  a lady  and  gentleman 
walking  hand-in-hand,  evidently  the  return  from  a 
wedding. 

All  the  ivory  combs  of  these  periods  are  of  the 
double-tooth  kind.  They  are  again  most  interesting 
examples,  together  with  the  caskets,  mirror  cases,  and 
writing-tablets,  of  the  habits  of  our  mediaeval  ancestors, 
of  their  quaint  conceits,  and  of  the  pains  that  were  taken 
to  decorate  even  apparently  trivial  objects. 

A kind  of  long  ivory  stylus,  or  what  might  be  mis- 
taken for  one,  is  sometimes  found,  with  a figure  on  the 
top,  or  men  and  women  embracing ; but  these  are  not 
writing  implements.  They  are  a description  of  comb 
used  for  parting  the  hair. 

Writing  tablets  to  be  covered  with  wax,  on  which 
the  writing  was  made  by  means  of  a pointed  style,  have 
been  already  referred  to  at  some  length  in  the  account 
of  classical  and  consular  diptychs.  The  habit  of  using 
such  tablets  was  persisted  in  to  a considerable  extent 
throughout  the  middle  ages,  and  indeed  until  quite 
recent  times.  Many  beautiful  memorandum  tablets  of 
236 


1.  6.  ITALIAN. 


6 

PLATH  L 'KMl.I-.l  CO.MIIS 


FIFTEfiNTH  CENTURY.  2.  ITALIAN.  FOUR  l EKN  I lf  CENTURY.  3.4.  ITALIAN. 

5.  ENGLISH.  SIXTEENTH  CEN  FURY  (LoRDERS  CUIMED; 


SIXTF.ENTH  CENTURY 


SECULAR  ART  IN  IVORY 

ivory  of  mediaeval  times  are  to  be  found  in  museums 
and  private  collections,  and  even  at  the  present  time 
such  little  books,  with  thin  leaves  of  ivory  for  writing 
on  in  pencil,  and  with  decorated  outer  covers,  have  not 
died  out.  The  term  “ tables,”  by  which  writing-tablets 
were  known  in  England,  was  also  applied  to  other  things. 
Draught-boards  were  called  tables,  and  the  paintings  on 
boards,  or  even  alabaster  carvings  in  churches,  were 
known  by  the  same  name.  It  was  used  also  for 
diptychs ; for  example,  in  the  will  of  John  Baret,  of 
Bury,  in  1463,  “ My  tablees  of  every,  with  the  combe.” 
It  is  curious  that  what  would  seem  to  be  a clumsy 
and  troublesome  fashion  should  have  persisted  so  long. 
But  people  had  more  leisure  in  earlier  days,  and  took 
matters  more  quietly.  Almost  in  our  own  times  cricket 
was  scored  on  sticks,  and  it  is  perhaps  not  more  than 
a hundred  years  or  so  since  the  national  accounts  were 
kept  in  much  the  same  way  by  what  were  known  as 
tallies. 

References  to  “tables”  are  common  in  early  writings. 
Chaucer  in  the  Sompnour’s  tale  tells  us  of  the  friar’s 
companion  that  he  had 

“ A pair  of  tables  all  of  ivory 
And  a pointel  ypolished  fetishly,” 

and 

“He  planed  away  the  names  everich  on 
That  he  before  had  written  in  his  tables.” 

He  was  a preaching  friar,  and  the  reward  of  those 
who  gave  him,  as  the  poem  tells  us,  a piece  of  brawn  or 
a “blanquette,”  was  to  be  inscribed  on  his  tables.  Again, 
a reference  in  Shakespeare’s  Henry  IV.  is  interesting, 
where  we  find  so  poetically  described  the  forgetting  of 
injuries  and  grievances  while  erasing  them  from  the 
waxen  tablet : — 

“ And  therefore  will  he  wipe  his  tables  clean 
And  keep  no  tell-tale  to  his  memory.” 

237 


IVORIES 

St.  Augustine,  in  a letter  on  one  occasion,  excuses 
himself  for  writing  on  parchment,  for,  as  he  says  : — 

“ This  letter  signifies  not  so  much  scarcity  of  paper  as  abundance 
of  parchment.  My  ivory  tablets  I sent  with  letters  to  your  uncle.  You 
will,  however,  more  readily  excuse  this  parchment,  because  the  matter 
treated  of  could  not  be  put  off,  and  I thought  it  very  wrong  not  to  write 
to  you.  If  you  have  any  of  my  tablets,  please  send  them,  in  case  of 
similar  emergencies.” 

And  in  the  Boke  of  Curtasye : — 

“ At  counting  stuarde  schalle  ben, 

Tylle  alle  be  brevet  of  wax  so  greene, 

Wrytten  in  bokes  without  let. 

That  before  in  tabuls  have  been  set.” 

The  wax  was  often  coloured  green  to  save  the  eyes,  and 
a set  of  tablets  with  the  green  wax  still  remaining  on 
them  has  already  been  mentioned.  Schoolboys  used 
them  instead  of  slates,  as  at  present,  and  they  were 
frequently  given  as  presents,  as  nowadays  we  give 
note-books,  pens,  inkstands,  and  similar  things.  They 
were,  of  course,  often  made  of  other  materials  than 
ivory. 

Various  kinds  of  wood  were  used — box,  beech, 
sycamore,  maple,  lime,  pine,  or  cedar,  stained  and  orna- 
mented with  ivory,  horn  and  precious  metals.  Some- 
times wooden  tables  had  ivory  covers,  and  they  were 
often  enclosed  in  cases  and  suspended  from  the  girdle. 
The  stylus,  which  was  often  of  silver,  had  one  end 
flattened  out  for  the  purpose  of  erasures  by  smoothing 
the  wax  again.  Many  examples  have  been  found,  some 
of  very  early  times,  in  various  parts  of  the  world,  but 
of  English  ones  perhaps  not  more  than  two  are  known. 
A set  containing  as  many  as  eight  inner  leaves  was  found 
lately  in  some  excavations  at  Cambridge,  and  in  1902  a 
small  pair  of  such  tables  with  three  styles  were  found 
at  Blythborough,  in  Suffolk,  near  where  formerly  stood 
a priory  of  Black  Canons,  a cell  to  the  abbey  of  St. 
Osyth,  Essex,  in  the  reign  of  Henry  I.  They  are  of 
238 


SECULAR  ART  IN  IVORY 

bone,  of  small  dimensions,  measuring  not  more  than 
two  and  a half  by  three  and  three-quarter  inches.  They 
are  carved  with  an  ornamentation  of  the  interlaced 
character  common  in  northern  work  of  the  ninth  to  the 
twelfth  centuries,  and  are  now  in  the  British  Museum. 
In  the  library  of  St.  Germain  des  Pr^s  at  Paris  is  a set 
of  eight  wooden  tablets  with  the  writing  on  the  wax 
still  legible.  They  contain  an  account  of  the  itinerary 
of  Philippe  le  Bel  from  January  to  July,  1307.  Other 
equally  interesting  examples  are  preserved  in  museums 
abroad.  Specimens  of  single  tablets  as  large  as  an 
ordinary  school  slate  also  exist.  It  is  said  that  the 
custom  has  not  even  yet  entirely  died  out,  and  that 
waxed  tablets  are  still  used  for  keeping  accounts  in  the 
fish  market  at  Rouen. 

The  examples  of  ivory  tablets  for  ordinary  use  which 
we  have  are  for  the  most  part  carved  on  the  outside  with 
domestic  scenes  or  stories  from  the  romances  of  chivalry. 
Nothing  could  be  more  interesting  than,  with  such  illus- 
trations in  our  hands  as  we  find  on  these  caskets,  combs, 
and  tablets,  to  follow  the  curious  and  romantic  stories 
which  abounded  in  French,  Italian,  and  English.  Of 
the  romances,  perhaps  the  most  popular  was  the  Quest 
of  the  Sangreal  made  by  the  knights  Lancelot,  Galahad, 
Boort,  and  Perceval,  a story  which  was,  in  fact,  the 
foundation  of  that  of  the  Round  Table.  Of  spiritual 
romances  and  allegories,  of  mystical  stories  of  monks 
and  nuns,  and  of  the  visions  which  they  had,  there  was 
also  no  end ; and  an  intimate  knowledge  of  the  symbolism 
which  was  still  so  frequently  used  is  necessary  for  the 
elucidation  of  some  obscure  subjects. 

Before  leaving  the  subject  of  materials  for  writing, 
mention  may  be  made  of  examples  of  ivory  rests  for  the 
hand  of  the  scribe  or  illuminator.  They  are  long  skewer- 
shaped implements  with  flat  sides,  surmounted  by  a 
figure,  which  is  usually  a lion  ; sometimes  a group  of 
lions,  or  other  figures.  There  are  four  examples — two 

239 


IVORIES 


French  of  the  fourteenth  century,  and  two  Italian  of  the 
fifteenth — in  the  Kensington  Museum. 

Horns  of  ivory  were  of  frequent  use  in  very  early 
and  in  mediaeval  times.  The  shape  of  the  elephant’s 
tusk  would  naturally  suggest  itself  for  such  a purpose, 
and,  as  a matter  of  fact,  it  is  from  this  circumstance 
that  the  well-known  term,  oliphant,  for  a horn,  is  derived. 
Examples  of  great  beauty  from  the  ninth  or  tenth  to  the 
seventeenth  centuries  may  be  referred  to. 

Horns  were  of  two  kinds  or  uses.  One,  the  hunting- 
horn,  used  in  the  chase  or  for  war,  was  worn  by  the 
knight  or  carried  after  him  by  his  esquire.  Or,  again, 
a horn  was  used  by  the  warders  of  the  old  feudal  castles 
to  give  the  alarm  on  the  approach  of  an  enemy,  or  even 
of  a visitor  of  distinction.  They  were  also  commonly 
used  as  drinking-horns,  in  many  cases,  of  course,  lined 
with  silver  or  metal  for  this  purpose,  and  mounted  on 
feet,  and  with  bands  of  metal  and  other  ornament. 
Horns  are  very  often  referred  to  in  old  wills  and  inven- 
tories. In  a list  of  the  royal  treasures  seized  by  King 
Edward  in  the  castle  of  Edinburgh,  after  he  had  re- 
duced John  Balliol,  king  of  Scotland,  to  submission, 
there  are  mentioned  “ three  ivory  horns  adorned  {Jtar- 
nesiatd)  with  silver  and  with  silk.”  In  the  inventory 
of  the  wardrobe  of  Charles  V.,  made  in  1379,  a horn  of 
ivory  mounted  in  gold,  and  hanging  to  a belt  or  band 
of  silken  tissue  sewn  with  fleurs-de-lis  and  dolphins  in 
gold,  is  mentioned.  In  the  will  of  Sir  John  de  Foxle, 
in  1378,  he  leaves  to  the  king  his  great  bugle-horn, 
ornamented  with  gold.  And  again,  Thomas,  earl  of 
Ormonde,  in  his  will  dated  a.d.  1515,  leaves  “to  my  da*" 
Dame  Margaret  Bolin  . . . item  when  my  lorde  my 
father  whose  soul  God  assoile  left  and  delivered  unto 
me  a lytle  whyte  home  of  ivory  garnished  at  both  ends 
with  gold,  and  corse  thereunto  of  whyte  sylke  . . . 
which  was  myn  auncestours  at  fiyrste  time  they  were 
called  to  honour.”  We  have  before  alluded  to  the  prac- 
240 


SECULAR  ART  IN  IVORY 

tice  of  presenting  horns  to  churches,  and  we  find  that 
there  were  in  the  treasury  of  St.  Paul’s  at  the  end  of 
the  thirteenth  century  “a  great  ivory  horn  engraved 
with  beasts  and  birds  : item,  another  small  plain  horn 
of  ivory,”  and  at  Canterbury,  for  a reliquary:  “/« 
majori  co7'nu  eburneo  pendente  sub  trabe  ultra  7nagnum 
altare"'  (Dart,  App).  Horns  are  fairly  common  on 
the  Continent  as  reliquaries ; for  instance,  at  Cologne, 
in  the  church  of  St.  Severin,  at  Aix-la-Chapelle,  and  at 
Hildesheim. 

A peculiar  use  to  which  horns  were  put,  and  one 
which  is  illustrated  in  a very  interesting  manner  by  the 
considerable  number  of  examples  which  still  exist,  was 
that  by  which  they  were  made  to  serve  as  charters  or 
instruments  of  the  conveyance  of  land.  They  are  known 
as  “tenure  horns.”  The  custom  is  particularly  specified 
by  Ingulphus,  abbot  of  Croyland,  as  the  manner  whereby 
in  the  Conqueror’s  time  “many  estates  were  transferred 
by  word  of  mouth,  without  any  writing  or  character, 
only  by  the  Lord’s  sword,  a horn  or  cup.”  Several  very 
interesting  examples  of  tenure  horns  were  exhibited 
in  the  loan  exhibition  of  objects  of  art  at  South  Ken- 
sington in  1862,  amongst  them  the  Ulphus,  the  Carlisle, 
the  Bruce,  and  the  Pusey  horns.  The  horn  of  Ulphus, 
the  son  of  Thorald,  who  ruled  in  the  west  of  Deira,  in 
the  ancient  kingdom  of  Northumbria,  about  the  year 
1036,  is  mentioned  in  an  early  chronicle,  which  tells  us 
that  “with  that  horn  he  was  used  to  drink  filled  it  with 
wine  and  before  the  altar  of  God  kneeling  devoutly, 
drank  the  wine  and  by  that  ceremony  enfeoffed  this 
church  with  all  his  lands  and  revenues.”  The  horn  is 
still  preserved  in  the  minster  of  York.  It  is  referred 
to  in  a sixteenth-century  inventory  of  the  cathedral 
church  of  St.  Peter:  ''Item,  unum  mag^mni  comti  de 
ebore  ornatuni  cum  argento  deaurato  ex  dono  Ulphi  Jilii 
Thoraldi  cum  zona  a^tnexa  ex  do7io  Joannis  Newton  I 
Another  interesting  example  is  in  Carlisle  Cathedral — 
R 241 


IVORIES 


the  horn  given  by  Henry  I.  to.  the  priory  of  Carlisle 
when  he  enfeoffed  it  with  certain  lands  to  be  held  “per 
quodam  cornu  eburneum  ” — by  a certain  ivory  horn. 
An  inventory  made  in  1530  mentions  “the  greate  horn 
venory  havynge  certain  bandes  of  sylver  and  golde,” 
and  the  verses  following  graved  upon : “ Henricus 
Primus  noster  Fundator  Hoc  dedit  in  teste  carte  pro 
jure  foreste.”  The  Bruce  horn  is  in  the  possession  of 
the  Ailesbury  family.  The  whole  tusk  is  plain  and 
very  magnificently  mounted  with  silver  bands,  chased 
in  compartments  with  stags  and  dogs,  one  animal  in 
each  compartment.  The  belt  is  richly  adorned.  The 
family  of  Pusey  also  hold  the  village  of  Pusey,  in  Berk- 
shire, by  a horn,  which  was  first  given  to  William  Picote 
by  King  Canute. 

ArchcBological  Journal,  vol.  xi.  p.  188,  describes 
a remarkable  ivory  drinking-horn,  exhibited  by  Mr. 
Blackburn  in  1854,  which  had  been  long  in  his  family 
and  regarded  as  a tenure  horn.  It  is  mounted  in 
silver  on  an  eagle’s  gamb,  with  two  little  wyverns  for 
the  smaller  end,  and  with  tip,  bands,  and  mouthpiece, 
also  in  silver.  The  tusk  is  carved  with  elephants  and 
other  animals,  and  is  probably  oriental. 

For  ivory  horns  no  doubt  comparatively  small  tusks 
would  have  been  chosen,  and  some  method  of  hollowing 
the  tusk  must  have  been  known  so  as  to  take  out  the 
greater  part  in  a solid  core,  as  is  now  often  done  in  the 
manufacture  of  billiard  balls.  They  would  not  have  been 
likely  to  waste  such  valuable  material  by  scooping  it  out. 

A magnificent  horn  of  large  size,  measuring  more 
than  two  feet  in  length  and  five  and  a quarter  inches  in 
diameter,  is  in  the  &nsington  Museum.  It  is  northern 
work  of  the  Byzantine  school  of  the  eleventh  century, 
carved  with  interlacing  circles  enclosing  figures  of  animals 
and  birds  in  high  relief,  and  around  each  end  is  a broad 
border  of  similar  ornamentation. 

Many  other  examples  of  fine  horns  up  to  the  six- 
242 


SECULAR  ART  IN  IVORY 

teenth  century  exist  in  most  of  the  collections  on  the 
Continent,  but  there  are  perhaps  few  finer  to  be  found 
than  the  very  beautiful  German  hunting-horn  of  the 
fifteenth  century  acquired  by  the  Kensington  Museum 
at  the  Soltikoff  sale  for  ^265.  It  is  completely  covered 
with  excellently  well-executed  hunting  scenes  in  low 
relief,  in  longitudinal  rows  separated  from  each  other 
by  similar  rows  filled  with  foliage.  Amongst  the  sub- 
jects we  have  St.  Christopher  carrying  our  Lord  across 
the  river.  He  is  preceded  by  a hermit,  who  is  lighting 
the  way  with  a lantern.  Then  there  is  a fight  of  seven 
men  with  a dragon  ; they  have  spears,  and  the  dragon 
issues  from  a cave  vomiting  forth  flames.  Other  orna- 
ments are  fabulous  beasts  and  a curious  scene  in  which 
a man  is  being  led  through  rocks  and  trees  by  two 
ladies ; men  and  women  are  looking  out  through  open- 
ings, and  two  pairs  kissing  one  another.  The  tone  of 
the  horn  is  said  to  be  extremely  good. 

Examples  of  ivory  horns  of  early  date  are  of  com- 
paratively frequent  occurrence,  but  their  origin  and  date 
are  not  always  easy  to  determine.  That  the  former, 
generally  speaking,  is  oriental  is  more  than  probable, 
and  when  they  come  to  us  through  Byzantium  one  can 
hardly  hesitate.  At  the  same  time  we  are  confronted 
with  many  examples  from  the  northern  countries  of 
Europe,  which  in  style  come  evidently  from  the  east, 
though  whether  direct  from  Constantinople  or  influenced 
only  from  thence  it  would  be  difficult  to  say.  The  Royal 
Society  of  Antiquaries  of  Scotland  possesses  a fine  horn 
of  northern  work,  carved  with  scroll  work  and  deer. 
The  tenure  horn  belonging  to  the  Marquess  of  North- 
ampton is  of  ivory,  which  has  become  very  dark,  almost 
like  wood.  The  decoration  consists  of  sphinxes,  griffins, 
floral  scrolls,  and  figures  copied  from  oriental  and  classi- 
cal sources.  And,  as  another  example,  there  is  the  Crathes 
tenure  horn,  in  the  possession  for  centuries  of  Sir  James 
Home  Burnett,  of  Crathes  Castle,  Kincardineshire.  It 

243 


IVORIES 

is  of  ivory,  mounted  with  silver  gilt,  with  a baldric  of 
green  silk.  The  Rothschild  renaissance  horn  will  be 
referred  to  later  on. 

Ivory  seals  were  probably  not  unusual,  not  only  for 
the  handle,  but  for  the  seal  itself.  The  double  ivory 
seal  of  the  thane  Godwin  and  of  Godwytha  is  in  the 
British  Museum.  It  consists  of  a circular  disc  with  an 
oval  projection  on  one  side.  On  one  face  is  the  half- 
length  figure  of  a man  in  profile,  and  the  legend, 
“ + siGiLLVM.  B.  GODWIN!.  MiNSTRi.”  The  projecting 
portion  is  carved  in  high  relief  with  two  seated  figures, 
one  holding  a sceptre ; their  feet  are  on  another  figure 
lying  prostrate  beneath  them.  Anglo-Saxon  seals  of 
any  kind  are  very  rare  indeed. 

A fine  example  of  a handle  of  a seal  of  the  thirteenth 
century  in  the  British  Museum  came  from  the  Gherar- 
desca  collection.  On  one  side  is  a bishop  wearing  a low 
mitre,  in  the  act  of  blessing  ; on  the  other  the  archangel 
Michael  seated  and  holding  a sword  and  scales.  The 
chubby  faces  are  very  interesting  and  natural.  It  is  a 
beautiful  example  of  figure  work  in  ivory  of  such  an 
early  period. 

On  the  seal  of  walrus  ivory  of  the  abbey  of  St. 
Alban,  also  in  the  British  Museum,  the  saint  is  repre- 
sented holding  a cross  and  palm  branch.  There  are, 
besides,  the  ivory  seals  of  Southwick  Priory,  of  Oseney 
Abbey,  and  of  Elsing  Spittle  Priory,  all  of  the  thirteenth 
century,  and  others  in  collections  abroad. 

A few  examples  remain  of  a curious  kind  of  ring 
which  was  prevalent  about  the  fourteenth  and  fifteenth 
centuries.  These  were  “rosary”  rings.  We  find  them 
alluded  to  sometimes  in  wills  and  inventories  as  “ringes 
with  knoppes  and  bullionys.”  A remarkable  one,  in 
the  possession  of  the  Waterton  family,  is  of  ivory,  with 
ten  knobs  or  bosses  for  the  Aves,  and  one,  larger,  for 
the  Pater  noster.  It  was  found,  about  1850,  in  Merston 
churchyard,  Holdernesse. 

244 


SECULAR  ART  IN  IVORY 

A remarkable  piece  of  Anglo-Saxon  jewellery,  a 
fibula  composed  of  a circular  plaque  of  silver,  to  which 
is  applied  two  filigree  plaques  of  gold,  was  found,  in 
the  early  part  of  last  century,  near  Bosworth,  in  Lincoln- 
shire. It  is  set  with  four  studs,  or  buttons,  of  ivory,  in 
the  centre  of  each  of  which  is  a garnet. 


245 


CHAPTER  XI 


CRUCIFIXES:  THE  ICONOGRAPHY  OF  THE  CROSS  IN 
EARLY  AND  MEDIEVAL  IVORIES;  RELIGIOUS  ART 
IN  THE  FIFTEENTH  AND  SIXTEENTH  CENTURIES 

WE  have  postponed  the  consideration  of  one  of 
the  most  important  applications  of  ivory  sculp- 
ture to  religious  purposes,  viz.  the  crucifix,  or, 
more  strictly,  the  figures  for  crucifixes,  because  we  have 
scarcely  any  examples  in  ivory  of  an  earlier  date  than 
the  seventeenth  century.  The  Crucifixion  is,  of  course, 
often  represented  on  diptychs,  book-covers,  and  other 
devotional  objects  of  the  kind,  and  many  beautiful 
examples  have  already  been  noticed;  but  we  have  very 
few  figures  for  the  definite  purpose  of  what  is  usually 
understood  by  the  term.  That  is  to  say,  that  by  crucifix 
is  meant  the  figure  of  our  Lord  to  be  attached  to  a cross 
as  an  isolated  object  of  devotion,  unaccompanied  by 
representations  of  other  actors  in  that  sacred  event. 

Following  the  same  plan  that  has  hitherto  been 
pursued,  it  is  not  proposed  to  concern  ourselves  with 
the  history  of  crucifixes  in  wood,  in  goldsmiths’  work, 
or  in  other  materials.  To  note  even  the  analogies  or 
differences  in  treatment  would  lead  us  too  far. 

The  extreme  rarity  of  examples  of  crucifixes  of  any 
kind  of  an  earlier  date  than  the  fourteenth  century  is 
well  known.  In  such  a comprehensive  collection  as  that 
of  the  Kensington  Museum  there  are  not,  perhaps,  more 
than  a dozen,  all  told,  from  the  earliest  times  until  about 
246 


CRUCIFIXES 

the  latter  period.  From  that  time  onwards,  no  doubt, 
they  abounded  in  churches,  on  altars,  on  rood-screens, 
and  adapted  for  other  uses.  But  it  is  remarkable  that 
in  the  case  of  examples  in  ivory  the  rarity  is  for  some 
time  still  more  marked.  It  would  hardly  be  an  ex- 
aggeration to  say  that  for  the  thirteenth,  fourteenth, 
fifteenth,  and  the  antecedent  centuries,  the  number 
known  to  exist  may  almost  be  counted  on  the  fingers 
of  one  hand.  At  least  we  are  able  to  point  to  no  more 
than  those  which  will  be  presently  noticed  in  detail.  It 
is  difficult  to  be  absolutely  precise,  because  others  may 
still  possibly  be  in  use  in  churches  in  remote  districts, 
or  to  be  found  in  private  collections;  but  as  to  museums 
and  public  treasuries,  both  at  home  and  abroad,  and  to 
the  best-known  cathedrals  and  churches,  the  examples 
to  which  reference  will  be  made  will  probably  exhaust 
the  list. 

For  those  who  are  captivated  by  the  devotional  art 
of  the  three  centuries  of  gothic  times  when  it  was  at 
its  highest  period  of  beauty  and  development,  the  ap- 
parent omission  to  make  use  of  ivory  in  the  case  of  the 
crucifix  is  a fact  which  must  fill  them  with  regret  and 
with  speculation  as  to  the  reasons  or  causes.  Excellent 
as  may  be  some  examples  of  post-renaissance  times  which 
we  shall  meet  with  presently,  curious  and  beautiful  from 
a certain  point  of  view,  and  calling  for  our  admiration 
on  account  of  the  artistic  qualities  and  truth  to  anatomical 
detail  which  it  would  be  impossible  to  deny  to  some  of 
them,  they  differ  greatly  from  the  conventional,  yet 
sufficiently  near  approach  to  naturalistic  treatment,  which 
forms  the  glory  of  the  devotional  work  of  the  artists  in 
ivory  of  the  gothic  period.  They  are  realistic,  and  in 
some  cases — such  as  the  Spanish,  and  of  these,  the 
painted  ones  especially — painfully,  horribly  so. 

It  will  have  been  seen  that  amongst  the  groups 
representing  scenes  in  the  Passion,  in  the  diptychs  and 
triptychs  which  have  been  described,  we  find  many  and 

247 


IVORIES 

many  representations  of  the  Crucifixion,  in  which  the 
figure  of  our  Lord  is  sometimes  of  not  inconsiderable 
size ; for  example,  in  the  beautiful  diptych  of  the  four- 
teenth century  (plate  xxxii.).  It  is  here  on  quite  a suffi- 
ciently large  scale  to  give  the  admirable  expression  of  the 
features  together  with  those  of  the  figures  in  the  sur- 
rounding groups.  We  may  deduce  from  these  instances 
some  idea  of  the  manner  in  which  the  mediaeval  artists 
would  have  treated  a larger  figure  such  as  would  have 
been  required  for  a crucifix  as  usually  understood.  It 
can  scarcely  be  imagined  that  it  did  not  occur  to  them 
to  use  the  large  tusks  for  such  a purpose  as  they  did  in 
the  case  of  the  statuettes  of  the  Virgin,  of  which  such 
beautiful  examples  have  come  down  to  us.  May  it  have 
been  that  as  the  outstretched  arms  of  a crucified  figure 
precluded  the  possibility  of  working  the  whole  in  one 
piece,  the  necessity  of  making  the  arms  separately,  as 
was  later  on  the  universal  custom,  was  repugnant  to 
their  ideas  of  artistic  propriety  ? Whatever  the  reason, 
the  rarity  of  existing  examples,  and  the  comparatively 
few  instances  of  the  mention  of  ivory  crucifixes  in 
church  and  other  inventories,  lead  to  the  conclusion 
that  they  were  unusual  in  mediaeval  times.  Still,  we 
find  in  the  records  of  guilds  and  corporations  that 
amongst  the  three  corporations  of  ivory  workers,  which 
existed  in  Paris  as  early  as  the  thirteenth  century,  the 
first  was  called  that  of  the  “Ymagiers  tailleurs  de  Paris 
et  de  ceux  qui  taillent  criicejis."  It  was  by  such  corpora- 
tions that  the  diptychs  and  triptychs  were  carved,  and 
the  most  stringent  regulations  as  to  capacity  in  the  art 
were  required  of  those  who  were  admitted  to  them. 

We  cannot  say,  then,  that  crucifixes  in  ivory  were 
not  made,  merely  that  we  can  now  point  to  very  few 
examples.  For  in  inventories  and  visitation  lists  of 
times  as  early  as  the  twelfth  century  one  comes  across 
such  entries  as  “ a cross  of  bone,”  or,  as  in  that  of 
Canterbury,  “an  ivory  crucifix  containing  relics.”  But 
248 


CRUCIFIXES 

to  refer  again  to  the  already  quoted  inventory  of  Lincoln 
Cathedral,  it  is  singular  that  amongst  such  a vast  accu- 
mulation of  riches  there  is  but  one  mention  of  an  ivory 
crucifix  or  the  figure  for  one.  We  find  in  the  inventory 
made  in  the  fifteenth  century,  “j  crux  eburnea  floriata, 
cum  ymagine  Crucifixi  cujus  pes  frangitur,”  but  it  does 
not  appear  in  the  inventory  of  1538,  unless  the  entry, 
“ iij  lyttyl  crosses  and  one  of  every  ornate  playtes  of 
sylver,”  refers  to  it. 

Nor  have  we  any  record  of  the  kind  of  cross  or 
crucifix  used  in  the  beautiful  and  touching  ceremony  of 
“ creeping  to  the  cross,”  for  which  one  with  an  ivory 
figure  would  seem  to  be  appropriate.  In  a manuscript 
of  about  the  year  1500,  printed  in  the  Northumberland 
Housebook  (see  yV2i^\it\X?>Moiminenta,  Oxford  ed.  vol.  iii. 
391)  we  find  a long  rubric  concerning  the  “Order  of  the 
Kinge  and  hys  creepinge  to  the  crosse.” 

Firs te  the  Kinge  to  come  to  the  chappell  or  closset  withe  the  lords  and 
noblemen  waytinge  upon  him,  without  any  sword  borne  before  him  as  that 
daye : and  ther  to  tarrie  in  his  travers  until  the  by  shoppe  and  the  deane 
have  brought  in  the  crucifixe  out  of  the  vestrie  and  layd  it  upon  the  cushion 
before  the  highe  alter.  And  then  the  usher  to  lay  a carpet  for  the  Kinge  to 
creepe  to  the  crosse  upon.  And  that  done  ther  shal  be  a forme  sett  upon  the 
carpett  before  the  crucifix  and  a cushion  laid  upon  it  for  the  Kinge  to  kneale 
upon  . . . and  this  done  the  queene  shall  come  downe  out  of  her  closett  or 
traverse  unto  the  chapell  with  la.  and  gentle^vomen  waytinge  upon  her,  and 
creepe  to  the  crosse:  and  then  goe  agayne  to  her  closett  or  traverse,  and 
then  the  la.  to  creepe  to  the  crosse  likewise:  and  the  lords  and  noblemen 
likewise." 

It  will  not  be  without  value,  perhaps,  to  review 
shortly  the  evolution  of  the  representation  of  the  Cruci- 
fixion as  we  find  it  illustrated  in  ivory  sculpture,  and  to 
follow  it  on  until  it  arrives  at  the  type  which  may  be 
said  to  have  been  most  common  in  the  seventeenth  cen- 
tury, and  is  now  the  fixed  and  accepted  one.  The  study 
is  the  more  interesting,  because  the  earliest  representa- 
tion that  we  know  is  one  in  ivory,  and  in  our  own  times 
this  is  the  most  commonly  chosen  material  for  the 
figures  of  crucifixes  which  are  everywhere  to  be  found. 

249 


IVORIES 

Natural,  indeed,  was  the  shrinking  which  we  find  in 
early  Christian  art  from  representing  a subject  of  such 
tremendous  significance,  combined  with  a record  of  such 
cruel  sufferings.  It  is  not  surprising  that  the  lapse  of 
centuries  was  required  before  the  prejudice  and  timidity 
should  disappear;  before  the  reverential  awe  which  hung 
about  all  reference  to  the  event  should  give  place  to  any 
kind  of  representation  in  which  a human  figure  should 
be  used,  and  allow  those  who  attempted  it  to  venture 
even  upon  a conventional  form  of  the  death  of  divine 
humanity — a distorted  one,  perhaps,  to  our  eyes,  but 
suggestive  enough  to  those  who  needed  no  more  than  a 
suggestion.  In  early  Christian  times  sufferings  of  such 
a kind  in  their  awful  reality  came  too  near  home  to 
those  who  themselves  knew  well  in  the  persons  of  those 
dearest  to  them  what  martyrdom  meant.  And  again,  it 
would  have  been  to  represent  an  occurrence  which  was 
a subject  for  derision  to  non-believers.  Therefore  it  was 
that  in  the  first  ages,  if  not  entirely  avoided,  care  was 
taken  to  dissimulate  it  under  the  least  apparent  forms. 
This  supreme  event — the  greatest  in  history — was  as  a 
matter  of  imagery  approached  only  through  the  medium 
of  forms  and  symbols,  types  and  allegories  known  and 
understood  by  the  initiated.  We  find,  for  example,  the 
symbolism  of  the  death  of  Abel,  or  the  sacrifice  of  Isaac. 
And  when,  as  time  went  on,  the  abstract  symbolism 
gave  place  to  an  actual  representation,  it  was  still  only  an 
attempt  to  translate  into  action,  by  means  of  a kind  of 
conventional  formula,  an  event,  and  the  sentiments  con- 
nected with  it,  which  were  impossible  to  be  expressed 
with  propriety. 

In  our  ancient  ivories  we  have,  almost  invariably, 
the  allegorical  figures  of  the  sun  and  moon  veiling  their 
faces  in  grief.  There  are  the  figures  of  the  Mother  and 
the  beloved  disciple.  Or,  again,  the  cup  of  sacrifice 
placed  beneath  the  rest  for  the  feet,  or  such  an  emblem 
as  the  pelican  in  her  piety  feeding  her  young.  Through- 
250 


CRUCIFIXES 

out  we  must  notice  the  reverential  feeling  which  prevents 
the  doing  more  than  make,  as  it  were,  a bare  record  of 
the  great  Fact.  Never  are  we  called  upon  to  dwell 
upon  the  sufferings  and  horrors  which  accompanied  it. 
Nor,  indeed,  could  it  be  possible  to  contemplate  calmly 
the  representations  which  later  times  have  put  before 
us,  were  it  not  that  the  custom  of  ages  has  turned  even 
the  realism  itself  into  a convention.  It  would  not  be 
difficult,  perhaps,  to  imagine  the  feelings  with  which 
the  first  attempt  at  a naturalistic  pourtrayal  would  have 
been  received.  But,  as  will  be  shown,  the  transitions 
have  been  gradual,  until  at  last  even  the  repulsive 
realities,  more  daring  in  the  Spanish  school  than  in  any 
other,  appear  to  be  defensible  and  almost  cease  to  shock. 

To  the  religious  mind  of  the  early  centuries  the 
Crucified  One  was  God  in  the  figure  of  man — usually 
of  a youthful,  beardless  type — and  not  even  a sugges- 
tion of  the  possibility  of  suffering  is  indicated.  The 
artist  appealed  to  faith  alone,  and  in  his  art  preserved 
the  mystery.  For  a less  believing  age  it  was  necessary, 
perhaps,  to  excite  emotions  of  pity,  and  finally  we  are 
presented  with  the  image  of  a purely  human  being 
undergoing  the  most  painful  death  which  it  is  possible 
to  conceive.  We  are  spared  scarcely  a realistic  detail 
which  can  add  horror  to  a situation  which  it  would  be 
impossible  calmly  to  gaze  upon,  unless  the  mind  has 
been  unconsciously  brought  to  idealise  a type  which  at 
the  same  time  professes  to  be  a truthful  presentment  of 
an  actual  and  terrible  fact.  Such  representations  are, 
it  may  be  said,  in  one  sense  truthful,  in  another  they 
are  untrue.  For  it  is  difficult  to  conceive  that  the 
reverential  feeling  of  devotion  and  of  faith  in  the  divine 
mystery  of  the  Passion  and  death  of  our  Lord  can  be 
measured  by  the  degree  of  excellence  in  art — great,  no 
doubt,  as  this  excellence  may  be,  as  in  the  case  of  the 
Spanish  crucifix  to  be  presently  described — which  we 
cannot  help  associating  with  them.  It  is  this  point  of 

251 


IVORIES 

view  which  is  of  so  great  interest  in  comparing  the 
early  representations  of  the  Crucifixion  and  the  feelings 
which  actuated  their  makers  with  those  of  later  times. 
On  the  one  hand  there  is  the  spirit  of  awe  and  reverence 
which  dared  not  go  beyond  recording  the  fact  in  what 
was  scarcely  more  than  a symbolical  manner ; on  the 
other  (after  about  the  sixteenth  century  at  least)  we 
have  the  artist  expending  all  his  talent  on  the  repre- 
sentation as  an  anatomical  exercise  of  a human  body 
nailed  to  a cross,  going  so  far,  as  we  shall  have  occasion 
to  refer  to  in  one  instance,  as  to  use  a corpse  for  his 
model.  Legitimate  enough,  no  doubt,  in  the  prepara- 
tion of  a work  of  art — for  Rembrandt  has  made  powerful 
use  of  such  a model — but  hardly  fitting  in  the  case  of 
the  holiest  of  themes. 

The  earliest  representation  of  the  Crucifixion  which 
has  come  down  to  us  is  perhaps  the  one  which  we  have 
in  the  Passion  plaques  in  the  British  Museum  (plate  xii.), 
if  we  except  what  may  be  a still  earlier  example  in  the 
case  of  the  doors  of  the  church  of  St.  Sabina  at  Rome. 
In  these  doors,  which  are  attributed  to  the  sixth,  or  even 
the  fifth,  century,  we  have  a number  of  subjects  carved 
in  wood.  Amongst  them  is  a group  of  three  figures, 
which  are  taken  to  represent  the  Crucifixion.  The  central 
one  of  these,  very  slightly  draped,  extends  both  arms 
from  the  elbow  only,  in  a manner  more  suggestive  of 
the  orantes,  as  if  praying,  than  of  a crucified  figure. 
Two  others,  smaller,  indeed  almost  infantile  in  propor- 
tions, stand,  one  on  either  side.  There  is  no  cross,  and 
they  appear  to  be  placed  against  a wall — the  walls  of 
Jerusalem,  as  it  is  thought.  To  the  above  may  be 
added  the  reliquary  of  Queen  Theodolinda,  of  the 
sixth  century,  on  which  the  two  thieves  appear  to  be 
indicated  in  the  attitude  of  crucifixion  ; and  the  Syriac 
evangeliarium  at  Florence  (a.d.  586  ?),  in  which  is  a 
representation  of  the  two  thieves,  and  the  soldiers  play- 
ing niora  or  casting  dice.  The  latter  rarity  is  also  found 
252 


CRUCIFIXES 

on  the  ivory  pax,  or  plaque,  of  the  eighth  century  at 
Cividale  in  Friuli. 

In  early  art  our  Lord  on  the  cross  is  nearly  always 
youthful,  erect,  and  in  life;  beardless  and  without  crown 
or  nimbus.  The  feet  are  separate,  sometimes  pointed 
to  the  front,  and  without  signs  of  nails.  The  drapery 
in  the  British  Museum  plaque  is  scanty ; but,  on  the 
other  hand,  it  is  usual  to  find  the  figure  more  or  less 
clothed,  either  in  a long-sleeved  garment  which  extends 
to  the  feet,  or  in  a skirt  reaching  to  the  knees,  or  even 
lower.  The  arms  are  at  right  angles  to  the  body,  the 
hands  extended  quite  straight.  It  was  a period  of 
tradition,  and  the  traditionary  methods  are  strictly 
preserved.  The  wound  in  the  side  does  not  appear  till 
much  later,  and  is  not  even  then  always  constant.  As 
before  remarked,  many  were  the  figures  and  symbolical 
allusions.  Of  the  two  thieves  a very  early,  if  not  the 
earliest,  instance  amongst  our  ivories  appears  on  a 
palimpsest  plaque  in  the  Kensington  Museum — Car- 
lovingian  work  of  the  ninth  or  tenth  century.  The 
arms  of  the  thieves  are  turned  back  over  the  arms  of 
the  cross,  and  their  feet  bound  with  ropes.  Often  the 
hand  of  the  Father  issues  from  a cloud  above  the  head 
of  the  Saviour  in  the  act  of  blessing.  The  spirit  of 
those  times  would  never  have  brooked  the  representa- 
tion of  the  Almighty  as  a venerable  old  man,  as  we  find 
later  on.  As  time  went  on  the  symbolisms  were  still 
further  extended.  The  enemy  of  mankind,  the  serpent, 
earth  and  water,  the  church  and  the  synagogue,  a skull, 
the  dead,  or  Adam  alone,  rising  from  their  graves, 
ministering  angels,  the  pelican,  Romulus  and  Remus 
(as  in  the  Rambona  diptych),  or  the  emblems  of  the 
Passion  in  the  form  of  the  sponge,  the  nails,  the  pincers, 
the  lance,  and  dice,  and  so  on,  are  found  as  adjuncts. 
The  form  of  the  cross  itself,  at  first  perfectly  plain 
with  rectangular  beams,  usually  of  narrow  dimensions, 
becomes  fantastic.  This  is  indeed  carried  so  far  that 


253 


IVORIES 

at  length,  as  in  a painting  of  the  sixteenth  century 
and  in  woodcuts  of  the  period,  we  have  human 
arms  issuing  from  the  four  arms  of  the  cross,  one  of 
which  opens  with  a key  the  gate  of  paradise,  another 
crowns  an  allegorical  female  figure  riding  upon  a lion, 
a third  stabs  in  the  head  another  allegorical  female 
figure,  and  the  fourth  locks  up  the  gates  of  hell. 

To  resume,  and  referring  solely  to  ivories,  the  Saviour 
in  the  British  Museum  plaque  is  youthful,  without  crown 
or  nimbus  or  scabellum,  the  feet  without  nails,  the  arms 
at  right  angles.  In  the  ninth  century  the  scabellum,  or 
rest  for  the  feet,  appears,  the  head  is  inclined,  there  is 
sometimes  a royal  crown,  the  body  is  completely  clothed 
(as  in  the  Kensington  Museum  palimpsest)  or  wears  a 
skirt.  In  the  tenth  or  eleventh  centuries  the  skirt  is 
usual,  but  sometimes  there  is  the  full  clothing.  In  one 
instance  our  Lord  is  old  and  the  beard  long.  The  feet 
are  crossed  and  nailed  with  one  nail.  There  are  the 
titulus  and  the  scabellum.  In  the  thirteenth  and  four- 
teenth centuries  the  body  becomes  more  emaciated,  with 
signs  of  suffering  in  the  face,  and  a tendency  to  realism, 
still,  however,  brought  before  us  in  the  most  reverential 
way,  with  a reticence  which  is  not  the  less  touching  and 
suggestive.  The  body  is  much  contorted,  the  arms  some- 
times disproportionately  elongated  and  not  so  straight, 
the  cross  long  and  slender.  The  crown  of  thorns  appears, 
but  oftener,  as  will  be  noticed  in  the  beautiful  diptych 
(plate  xxxii.),  this  is  no  more  than  a fillet.  Finally,  we 
pass  to  the  striking  change  in  the  expression  of  artistic 
feeling  which  was  manifest  at  the  epoch  known  under 
the  name  of  the  renaissance,  and  there  will  be  little  of 
religious  art  in  ivory  to  call  for  notice  until  we  come  to 
the  crucifixes  of  the  seventeenth  century.  These,  for 
the  most  part,  are  of  a type  which  attracts  attention  on 
somewhat  different  grounds  from  those  upon  which  we 
have  hitherto  dwelt. 

We  may  now  briefly  refer  to  the  few  examples  of  very 
254 


CRUCIFIXES 

early  crosses  and  crucifixes  in  ivory  which  we  are  fortu- 
nate enough  to  possess,  and  next  devote  some  space 
to  the  work  of  the  ivory  carvers  of  the  seventeenth  and 
eighteenth  centuries,  of  which  indeed  there  is  no  lack, 
though  it  is  of  very  unequal  merit,  and  for  the  most  part 
in  its  latest  phases  must  be  admitted  to  be  deplorable. 

A crucifix  with  an  ivory  figure,  from  the  Soltikoff 
collection,  is  in  the  Kensington  Museum.  The  cross  is  of 
cedar,  overlaid  with  plates  of  gold  filigree  work,  and  with 
four  medallions  of  cloisonnd  enamel  with  the  emblems 
of  the  evangelists.  The  figure  is  of  walrus  ivory,  the 
arms  being  of  separate  pieces  from  the  body.  There  is 
a fillet  instead  of  a crown  of  thorns.  The  gold  cross  is 
Byzantine  work  of  the  tenth  century,  and  with  this  we 
need  not  concern  ourselves;  but  it  may  be  asked  whether 
the  figure  may  not  be  later,  and,  again,  was  it  made  for 
the  cross,  or,  perhaps,  part  of  a plaque  or  book  cover? 

The  cross,  known  as  that  of  the  Princess  Gunhilda, 
niece  of  King  Canute,  in  the  museum  at  Copenhagen, 
is  not,  perhaps,  in  its  present  condition  strictly  a crucifix, 
for  the  figure  is  lost;  but  it  has  incontestably  possessed 
one,  as  the  place  for  the  head  shows  a cruciferous  nimbus, 
and  there  are  representations  of  drops  of  blood  below 
where  the  feet  and  hands  were  nailed.  It  is  an  interesting 
specimen  of  Scandinavian  Byzantine  work.  Both  sides 
are  beautifully  carved  in  low  relief,  with  medallions  at 
the  ends  of  the  arms,  having  representations,  amongst 
others,  of  our  Lord  in  glory,  royal  and  priestly  personages. 
Dives  and  Lazarus,  and  the  allegory  of  the  church  and 
the  synagogue,  and  there  are  many  decorative  inscriptions 
in  Roman  capitals. 

A splendid  crucifix  of  primitive  type,  work  of  the 
eleventh  century,  formerly  in  the  cathedral  of  St.  Isidore, 
at  Leon,  is  now  in  the  Archaeological  Museum  at  Madrid. 
It  is  composed  on  both  sides  of  ivory  tablets  elaborately 
sculptured,  the  figure  of  Christ  draped  with  a long  skirt, 
and  attached  with  four  nails.  The  open  eyes  are  set  with 

255 


IVORIES 

coloured  glass  beads.  It  was  exhibited  as  Spanish  work 
at  the  loan  exhibition  at  Kensington  in  i88i,  but  it  may 
be  questioned  whether  the  origin  is  not  oriental.  The 
figure  is  of  the  archaic  Byzantine  type.  At  the  foot  is 
the  inscription,  in  relief,  “ ferdinandvs.  rex.  sancia. 
REGINA.”,  the  gift  of  King  Ferdinand  to  his  queen 
Sancia.  The  date  is  therefore  between  a.d.  1037 
1065.  The  elaborate  decoration  on  the  back  recalls — 
indeed,  it  is  identical  in  character  with — the  chair  arms 
from  the  Meyrick  collection,  which  have  been  noticed. 
There  is  always  a difficulty  in  distinguishing  a certain 
class  of  Arabian  art  from  Byzantine.  The  decorative 
ideas  adopted  by  both  came  from  Persia.  We  see  this, 
for  instance,  in  the  case  of  oliphants.  But  the  relations 
of  Spain  with  Constantinople  and  its  emperors  in  the 
days  of  the  caliphs  of  Cordoba  must  not  be  forgotten, 
and  the  consequent  influx  of  Byzantine  artists  into 
Spain.  We  find  the  same  system  of  interlaced  scroll 
foliage  work  in  the  two  arms  of  an  ivory  cross  of  the 
twelfth  century  in  the  collection  of  M.  Doistan,  ex- 
hibited in  Paris  in  1878,  and  since  presented  to  the 
Louvre ; in  this  case  a kind  of  border  or  frieze  of 
grotesque  animals  running  along  the  edges.  These 
crucifixes  may  well  be,  then,  Byzantine,  or  the  work 
of  Moorish  artists  for  the  Christians  of  Spain ; for 
ornament  they  are  thoroughly  oriental.  The  decorative 
elements  introduced  by  the  floors  into  Spain  are,  above 
all,  conspicuous,  and  it  is  interesting  to  compare  such 
work  with  that  of  the  Arab  caskets  of  the  cathedrals 
of  Pampeluna  and  of  Palencia.  V^e  need  not  pursue 
further  this  interesting  subject  except  to  notice  that 
M.  de  Linas,  in  his  learned  article  in  the  Revue  de  1' art 
chrdtien  (vol.  iii.)  asserts  his  conclusion  that  the  Leon 
crucifix  is  purely  Spanish. 

A large  crucifix  in  the  cathedral  at  Bamberg,  said  to 
be  of  the  eleventh  century,  is  described  by  Kugler  [Kleine 
Schriften,  vol.  i.),  and  another,  in  the  cathedral  at  Bor- 
256 


rLATE  Li!  t.  I'KACi.MKXT  Ol-  A CRUCIFIX.  ITALIAN 

IHIU  TEliN  l II  CEXTUKV 

2.  FI  ETA 

AT  ONE  TI.ME  THE  CENTRE  OF  ITIE  VOI.UTE  OF  A CROSIER.  FOURTEENTH  CENTURY 


CRUCIFIXES 

deaux,  assigned  to  the  twelfth  century,  is  briefly  alluded 
to  by  Viollet  le  Due  in  his  Dictio)inaire  de  1' architecture 
(article  “Crucifix”). 

So  far,  therefore,  as  our  knowledge  goes,  these  five 
examples  exhaust  the  list  of  early  ivory  crucifixes,  and 
we  pass  at  a bound  to  the  fourteenth  century.  Here  we 
shall  find  the  sole  example  which  we  are  able  to  produce 
of  that  glorious  period  of  devotional  art — the  only  link 
of  its  kind  between  the  much  earlier  types  which  we 
have  been  considering  and  the  crowd  of  crucifixes  which 
the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth  centuries  will  present  to 
us.  It  is  a long  interval — a great  gap  indeed — more  than 
five  hundred  years  which  remains  to  be  filled  between 
the  middle  of  the  eleventh  and  the  beginning  of  the 
seventeenth  centuries. 

But  if  we  have  but  this  one  example,  now  in  the 
museum  at  Kensington,  it  is — though  hardly  more  than 
a fragment — a very  fine  and  instructive  one.  It  is 
the  prototype  of  those  later  models  which  characterise 
the  form  given  to  the  crucifix  even  down  to  our  own 
time,  though  far  finer  in  conception  and  devotional 
treatment  than  anything  that  succeeding  centuries  can 
show.  There  is,  indeed,  in  the  head  of  our  Lord,  falling 
over  after  death  on  the  right  shoulder,  an  indication  of 
the  agony  which  has  been  gone  through,  but  it  is  not  of 
an  exaggerated  type,  neither  has  the  artist  shirked  this 
expression  of  suffering,  or  contented  himself  with  the 
placid  sentimentalism  which  characterises  so  many  of 
the  crucified  figures  of  post-renaissance  times.  It  is  an 
ideal  of  the  highest  kind,  conceived  with  a perfect  reticence 
of  feeling,  even  though — by  hardly  more  than  indications 
— it  suggests  to  us  the  anatomy  of  the  emaciated  body 
and  of  the  legs  drawn  up  in  agony.  There  has  been  a 
crown  of  thorns,  beneath  which  the  hair  falls  over  in 
long,  dank  ringlets,  but  there  are  no  realistic  drops  of 
blood  or  painful  wounds.  There  is  sufficient  of  the  real 
combined  with  a subtle  spirit  of  convention.  Fragment 
s 257 


IVORIES 

though  it  may  be,  it  is  noble  and  poetical,  and  our  regrets 
are  increased  that  we  may  only  conjecture  in  what  way 
the  sculptor  completed  the  treatment  of  his  subject  in 
the  positions  of  the  arms  and  legs,  which  have  always 
presented  difficulties  in  works  of  this  kind.  So  far  as 
we  can  judge,  the  arms  were  extended,  if  not  almost  at 
right  angles,  at  any  rate  without  being  much  drawn 
upwards,  as  became  what  is  called  the  Jansenist  practice 
later  on. 

A lesser  fragment,  found  not  long  ago  in  making 
some  excavations  in  London,  is  in  the  Guildhall 
Museum.  Scarcely  more  than  the  torso  remains.  The 
head  and  arms  are  missing,  and  the  legs  have  been 
broken  off  below  the  knees.  Still,  we  may  gather  that 
the  complete  figure  must  have  been  very  beautiful,  and 
was  probably  English  work.  The  skirt  is  long,  and 
gracefully  draped  with  a decorative  border.  It  is, 
perhaps,  as  early  as  the  twelfth  century. 

In  a succeeding  chapter  there  will  be  occasion  to 
consider  the  new  spirit  which  was  introduced  into  art 
of  all  kinds  at  the  period  of  the  renaissance,  and  its 
effect  on  ivory  sculpture  in  the  seventeenth  century  will 
have  to  receive  attention.  From  that  time  onwards,  so 
far  as  religious  art  is  concerned,  the  crucifix  is  the  only 
object,  with  very  few  exceptions,  which  calls  for  serious 
notice.  For  the  present  we  may  take  these  crucifixes 
here,  as  a class  apart,  without  reference  to  the  general 
condition  of  ivory  carving  in  the  century  alluded  to, 
from  which  all  our  examples  will  be  drawn. 

In  the  seventeenth  century  ivory  crucifixes — that  is 
to  say,  figures  in  ivory  to  be  attached  to  a cross — 
abounded.  Probably  every  sculptor  would,  at  one  time 
or  another,  have  tried  his  hand  at  one,  for  such  things 
are  always  attractive  objects  in  this  material.  Without 
attempting  to  compile  a list  of  known  examples,  it  will 
be  interesting  to  note  the  most  important  ones,  and  the 
artists  to  whom  they  are  attributed,  for  it  is  only  in  rare 
258 


CRUCIFIXES 

cases  that  we  have  any  certainty  of  this  attribution.  We 
i shall  find  them  distributed  amongst  the  ivory  sculptors, 
i for  the  most  part,  of  France,  Germany,  and  the  Nether- 
I lands;  in  the  first-named  country, especially  of  the  schools 
of  Dieppe  and  St.  Claude  in  the  Jura,  which  were  the 
two  most  important  centres  of  ivory  carving  in  France. 

! It  will  be  hardly  worth  while  to  do  more  than  mention, 

I in  passing,  that  a figure  of  Christ  for  a crucifix  attributed 
to  Jean  Goujon  formed  the  subject  of  a lawsuit  in  Paris 
in  1856,  and  that  another  at  Munich  is  said  to  be  by 
Michael  Angelo,  and  another  attributed  to  Cellini.  With 
regard  to  Cellini,  nothing  is  more  likely  than  that  he 
worked  in  ivory,  and  would  probably  have  executed  a 
crucifix;  but  there  is,  unfortunately,  not  the  least  scrap 
of  evidence  to  this  effect.  There  is  a crucifix  by  him, 
j in  the  Escurial,  of  life-size,  in  one  piece  of  white  marble. 

I It  is  entirely  nude,  the  feet  crossed  and  nailed  with  one 
j nail,  the  arms  almost  straight.  He  tells  us,  in  his 
i memoirs,  that  he  vowed  to  make  an  image  of  Christ  as 
j He  appeared  to  him  in  a vision  when  he  was  a prisoner 
in  the  castle  of  St.  Angelo,  and  it  is  claimed  that  this  is 
the  one  which  he  made.  Another  crucifix  in  the  royal 
chapel  at  Munich  is  said  to  be  by  Algardi.  Probably, 
with  that  attributed  to  Michael  Angelo,  it  is  German  or 
Flemish  of  the  seventeenth  century. 

The  name  of  Francois  Duquesnoy  will  figure  promi- 
nently when  we  come  to  consider  generally  the  ivory 
carvers  of  the  seventeenth  century.  Several  crucifixes 
from  his  hand,  or  supposed  so  to  be,  were  exhibited  at 
the  Brussels  Exhibition  of  1880 — one,  at  least  (from 
the  collection  of  the  Comte  de  Grunne),  with  his  signa- 
ture. Of  the  work  of  his  brother  Jerome,  a crucifix 
made  for  Antoine  Trieste,  bishop  of  Ghent,  is  illustrated 
in  Mae’s  and  Weale’s  Album  des  objets  d'arf  exposes  a 
Malines  en  1864,  and  the  authors  tell  us  that  it  is  irre- 
proachable in  anatomy,  with  the  expression  of  suffering 
well  rendered;  but  the  Catholic  traditions  were  neglected 

259 


IVORIES 

not  only  as  to  the  vertical  position  of  the  arms,  but  also 
with  regard  to  the  scantiness  of  the  drapery. 

Another  famous  crucifix,  or  one  of  two — for  the  one 
is  a replica  of  the  other — attributed  to  no  less  an  artist 
than  Francois  Girardon,  is  in  the  archiepiscopal  palace 
at  Troyes.  The  replica,  or  original,  as  the  case  may  be, 
is  in  the  cathedral  of  Sens.  They  are  not  of  great 
merit,  or  likely  to  be  the  work  of  Girardon. 

Joseph  Villerme,  of  St.  Claude  (+  1720),  was  a French 
ivory  sculptor,  who  devoted  himself  entirely  to  crucifixes, 
and  many  of  those  to  be  found  in  French  churches  in 
Franche  Comt6  are  doubtless  from  his  hand.  In  order 
better  to  understand  the  anatomy  of  a figure  attached 
to  a cross,  he  is  said  to  have  frequently  used  dead  bodies 
as  models,  and  on  one  occasion  to  have  nearly  lost  his 
life  from  a malignant  fever  caught  during  the  process  of 
making  a plaster  cast. 

An  interesting  French  crucifix  of  the  seventeenth 
century  is  that  by  Jean  Baptiste  Guillermin  (1623—79), 
of  the  Dieppe  school,  signed  by  him  and  dated  1659. 
It  was  made  for  the  chapel  of  a confraternity  of  peni- 
tents at  Avignon,  and  is  now  preserved  in  the  Calvet 
Museum  of  that  town.  There  is  an  interesting  history 
attached  to  it.  The  story  goes  that  the  “ Confrerie  des 
Penitents  de  la  Misericorde”  were  charged  with  the  care 
of  prisons,  and  accompanied  condemned  criminals  to  the 
scaffold.  Once  a year  they  were  allowed  the  privilege  of 
obtaining  the  pardon  of  a condemned  person,  and  on  one 
occasion  the  criminal  happened  to  be  a nephew  of  Jean 
Guillermin,  who  offered  his  crucifix  in  return  for  his 
nephew’s  release.  There  is,  however,  a long  and  inter- 
esting record  in  the  archives  of  the  confraternity,  giving 
in  detail  the  negotiations  which  took  place  between  them 
and  the  sculptor  concerning  this  crucifix.  The  proces- 
verbal  speaks  of  the  excellent  foreign  sculptor  then 
staying  in  or  passing  through  the  town,  and  the  proposal 
is  made  to  entrust  him  with  the  execution  of  an  ivory 
260 


CRUCIFIXES 

crucifix  finer  and  larger  than  any  they  possessed  at  the 
time,  Guillermin  promises  that  if  a piece  of  ivory  can 
be  obtained  of  sufficient  size  and  quality,  he  will  remain 
and  exercise  all  his  talent  in  making  the  crucifix.  One 
of  the  council  goes  to  Marseille  to  procure  a piece,  but 
finding  none  there,  after  some  trouble  manages  to 
procure  one  at  Montpelier  weighing  seventy  - three 
pounds,  which  is  purchased  at  thirty-eight  sols  the 
pound.  It  is  then  agreed  that  the  sculptor  shall  receive 
for  his  work  forty  crowns,  and  one  pistole  (twenty  francs) 
in  addition  if  satisfaction  is  given.  The  work  is  begun, 
but  not  being  satisfied  with  the  two  first  arms  of  the 
figure  which  he  made,  Guillermin  makes  two  more,  and 
the  confraternity  congratulate  themselves  on  having  two 
pairs,  which  they  decide  to  keep  carefully.  The  work 
occupies  the  months  of  July  and  August,  and  is  ready 
for  delivery  a few  days  before  the  feast  of  St.  John 
Baptist.  The  confraternity  are  delighted,  and  the  proces- 
verbal  says  that  an  honest  man  who  saw  the  crucifix 
offered  a hundred  louis  d’or  if  they  would  part  with  it. 
Then  follows  an  account  of  the  joy  of  the  people,  and 
of  the  processions  and  special  services  which  were 
organised  to  accompany  the  reception  of  the  crucifix  at 
the  cathedral.  It  would  appear  that  Guillermin  received 
280  francs  for  his  work,  and  that  the  cost  of  the  ivory 
was  138  francs;  so  that,  allowing  for  the  difference  in 
value  of  money  at  the  time,  the  confraternity  made  a 
very  good  bargain.  The  account  is  interesting,  as  it 
shows  the  value  of  artistic  work  of  the  kind  in  those 
days,  the  time  taken  to  complete  the  work,  the  size  and 
weight  of  the  tusk  used,  and  also  that  none  was  pro- 
curable at  so  important  a port  as  Marseille,  though  a 
more  inland  town  was  able  to  furnish  it. 

Other  French  crucifixes  are  those  of  Michel  and 
Francois  Anguier  (1614-86),  the  latter  of  whom  exe- 
cuted the  crucifix  for  the  high  altar  of  the  Sorbonne, 
and  of  Simon  and  Hubert  Jaillot  (1657—81),  who  were 

261 


IVORIES 

makers  of  crucifixes  only.  A good  example  by  the 
former  is  in  the  hospital  of  St.  Germain-des-Pres  at 
Paris.  Michel  Anguier  was  a sculptor  of  considerable 
merit.  There  is  a pair  of  very  fine  bronze  fire-dogs, 
with  figures  of  Jupiter  and  Juno,  by  him  in  the  Wallace 
Museum. 

Amongst  others  who  carved  crucifixes  were  Le  Geret 
(1628—88),  and  at  the  end  of  the  eighteenth  century  the 
Rossets,  father  and  son,  of  St.  Claude;  and  so  we  come 
to  the  ivory  crucifixes  which  up  to  the  present  day  are 
turned  out  in  vast  quantities  at  such  ivory-working 
centres  as  Dieppe  and  Geislingen.  They  are,  of  course, 
simply  workshop  work  made  after  the  same  model  over 
and  over  again,  after  the  fashion  started  some  time  in 
the  eighteenth  century,  which  has  gone  on  getting  worse 
and  worse  to  our  own  times. 

Of  German  crucifixes  the  list  would  probably  be 
a very  long  one  if  we  should  seek  to  include  all  who 
addressed  themselves  to  this  work  among  the  ivory 
sculptors  of  Bavaria,  Saxony,  Suabia,  and  other  places. 
Prominent  amongst  them  stands  the  work  of  Andreas 
Faistenberger  (1646-1735),  to  whom  we  shall  again  have 
occasion  to  refer.  It  is  seldom,  indeed,  that  we  are 
enabled  to  identify  the  work  of  ivory  sculptors  by  their 
signatures,  but  happily  the  very  fine  crucifix  belonging 
to  the  archbishop  of  Tours,  shown  at  the  Lille  Exhibi- 
tion of  1874,  bears  the  initials  of  Faistenberger.  It  is 
made  of  an  extremely  fine  piece  of  ivory,  of  a very 
large  and  distinct  grain.  The  figure  measures  nearly 
thirty  inches  in  length.  The  arms,  following  to  some 
e.xtent  the  ancient  tradition,  are  not  so  far  removed  from 
the  horizontal  position  as  we  unfortunately  find  too 
often  in  figures  of  this  period  and  later ; the  feet  are 
apart  and  nailed  with  two  nails,  and  the  drapery — so 
far  as  it  may  be  considered  appropriate — is  excellent. 
The  head  is  crowned  with  thorns,  and  the  expression  of 
the  face,  the  uplifted  eyebrows,  the  wide-opened  eyes, 
262 


4 


I 


m- 

rLATE  Lin  CKUCUIX 

FROM  T!IF  AliBEY  CHLKCH  OF  DOWNSIDE-  SEVENTEENTH  CENTUKY  ; 


CRUCIFIXES 

from  which  tears  flow  and  rest  on  the  cheeks,  the  partly 
opened  mouth,  and  the  flowing  locks  are  admirable. 
The  eyes  are  coloured  blue,  the  wound  in  the  side  and 
the  drops  of  blood  are  also  coloured.  A little  above  the 
drapery  on  the  left  side  are  the  initials  “a  f”  and  the 
date  “ 1 68 1.”  Another  crucifix,  possibly  also  by  Faisten- 
berger,  was  shown  at  the  same  exhibition  by  M.  Alfred 
Mam6,  of  Tours;  but  though  the  anatomy  is  good,  it  is 
not  equal  in  expression.  The  face  is  insipid,  and,  as  it 
were,  too  correct  and  careful. 

Of  all  the  crucifixes  of  this  period  we  know  none  so 
fine  as  the  beautiful  one  in  the  Benedictine  abbey 
church  at  Downside,  near  Bath,  which,  in  default  of 
any  absolute  indication,  and  comparing  it  with  the  first 
of  those  described,  there  would  appear  some  reason  to 
attribute  to  the  same  excellent  sculptor.  It  is  again  of 
large  dimensions  and  of  a very  fine  quality  of  ivory. 
Time,  which  deals  in  a somewhat  unaccountable  manner 
with  ivory  in  respect  to  colouration,  has  stained  the 
greater  part  of  the  figure  a fine  chestnut  or  mahogany 
colour,  which,  far  from  being  a deterioration  to  be 
regretted,  adds  greatly  to  its  beauty.  The  suffering 
expression  of  the  face,  in  its  simple  and  touching 
pathos,  the  eyes  opened  as  in  life,  the  anatomy  of  the 
torso,  the  strained  muscles  and  the  prominently  marked 
veins,  are  of  rare  beauty  and  scientific  truth.  The  arms, 
the  knees,  show  a surprising  vigour  and  yet  restrained 
delicacy  of  modelling.  The  tituhis  is  separate,  and 
beneath  is  a detached  skull,  the  crossed  bones  missing. 
There  is  no  crown  of  thorns,  but  this  omission  was  not 
unusual  at  the  time.  The  figure  measures  nineteen 
inches  in  length  and  fourteen  and  a half  inches  in  breadth 
between  the  finger-tips,  the  circumference  of  the  torso, 
or  chest  measurement,  being  nearly  thirteen  inches. 

The  history  of  this  crucifix  is  unknown,  except  that 
it  is  traditionally  supposed  to  have  been  taken  from  a 
Spanish  pirate  ship,  and  as  an  example  of  Spanish  art 

263 


IVORIES 

it  was  exhibited  at  the  loan  exhibition  at  South  Kensing- 
ton in  1 88 1.  It  was  the  gift,  about  the  year  1814,  to  the 
newly  erected  church  of  the  Benedictines  at  Downside, 
of  Mrs.  Sartorius,  mother  of  Admiral  Sartorius,  who 
had  captured  it  from  a Spanish  galleon. 

Another  remarkably  fine  crucifix  of  a similar  type, 
but  somewhat  larger,  is  at  Oscott  College,  near  Birming- 
ham. The  head  wears  a crown  of  thorns,  and  the 
anatomy  of  the  body  is  extremely  fine.  It  belonged  to 
Napoleon  I.,  who  gave  it  to  Cardinal  Fesch,  and  he  in 
turn  gave  it  to  Cardinal  Fieschi,  through  whom  it  came 
to  Oscott.  The  figure  measures  thirty  inches  in  height. 

A crucifix  undoubtedly  Spanish  in  feeling,  probably 
late  seventeenth-century  work,  and  admirable  indeed 
from  a purely  artistic  point  of  view,  if  not  for  the 
.sentiment  which,  in  the  opinion  of  many,  ought  to 
govern  the  illustration  of  such  an  exalted  theme,  is 
the  one  which  has  been  now  for  many  years  in  the 
church  of  St.  James,  in  Spanish  Place,  London.  We 
have  here  pushed  almost  to  the  ultimate  limits  possible 
a realistic  presentment  of  a human  being  who  has 
already  suffered  the  most  cruel  treatment  by  scourging, 
hanging  suspended  by  nails  on  a cross,  in  the  last  agony 
of  death,  or  at  the  moment  after  death.  By  colour  and 
jewelling  we  are  shown  the  shocking  state  of  the  whole 
body  from  the  effect  of  blows,  the  lacerated  back,  the  knees 
broken  and  streaming  with  blood,  which  is  indicated 
throughout  the  wounds  on  the  body  by  tiny  rubies.  The 
feet  are  crossed  and  nailed  with  one  nail,  the  crown  of 
thorns  is  of  metal.  It  is  unnecessary  further  to  dwell 
on  this  painful  realism.  After  all,  the  face  is  calm  and 
beautiful,  but  it  is  a method  of  expressing  such  a sacred 
subject  to  which  the  term  morbid  is  alone  applicable. 

We  are  not  inclined  to  attribute  to  Spanish  art — as 
regards  workmanship  at  least — many  of  the  crucifixes 
of  the  type  with  which  we  have  been  dealing.  Ivory 
was  not  very  much  used  in  Spain  at  the  periods  in 
264 


PLATE  LIV  CRUCIFIX.  COLOURED  AND  JEWELLED 


SEVENTEENTH  CENTURY 


CRUCIFIXES 

question.  Besides,  one  may  easily  imagine  a Spanish 
ecclesiastic  in  Rome  or  elsewhere  giving  instructions  for 
the  making  of  a crucifix  according  to  his  ideas,  ordering 
that  it  should  be  coloured,  the  wounds  emphasised,  and 
the  blood  indicated  by  rubies.  Strip  the  Spanish  Place 
crucifix  of  these  additions  or  peculiarities,  and  there 
would  be  nothing  particularly  Spanish  about  it  except 
the  treatment  of  the  hair  and  beard. 

Another  crucifix  of  very  large  size  and  of  good  type  is 
in  the  British  Museum.  It  is  said  to  be  Italian  of  the  six- 
teenth century.  But,  as  in  other  cases,  it  is  difficult  to  be 
precise  ; and  even  if  some  may  be  by  German  or  Flemish 
sculptors,  it  must  be  remembered  how  many  of  these 
studied  and  worked  for  a long  time  in  Rome,  and  were 
permeated  by  Italian  influence  and  feeling.  Indeed,  they 
must  have  known  the  great  crucifix  of  Donatello.  Gener- 
ally speaking,  it  is  seldom  that  we  find  any  striking 
originality. 

A brief  reference  must  suffice  for  some  other  examples 
by  German  artists.  A crucifix  by  Georg  Petel  (+ 1634), 
a Bavarian  sculptor  of  some  repute,  settled  at  Augsburg, 
is  in  the  Imperial  Museum,  Vienna.  It  is  not  without 
merit,  but  is  in  no  way  equal  to  the  work  of  Faisten- 
berger.  The  same  remark  will  apply  to  the  crucifixes 
of  Melchior  Barthel  (1625—72),  of  Balthasar  Permoser 
(1650-1732),  and  of  Bernhard  Bendel  (1668-1736).  Ex- 
amples by  these  are,  respectively,  in  the  museums  at 
Florence  and  Brunswick,  and  in  the  Frauenkirche  at 
Munich.  They  all  worked  in  Italy,  and  to  this  circum- 
stance must  be  attributed  the  similarity  of  style  and 
feeling.  One  cannot  help  finding  in  them,  as  in  so 
many  others  of  a similar  type,  a suggestion  rather  of  a 
living,  unclothed  body,  in  full  health  and  strength, 
merely  suspended  or  hanging  by  the  hands,  than  any 
idealised  conception  of  a cruel  martyrdom.  And  this 
without  reference  to  what  has  already  been  said  with 
regard  to  devotional  treatment. 


265 


IVORIES 

Considerable  space  has  been  given  to  crucifixes  and 
their  makers  for  reasons  relating  to  the  important 
position  which  they  hold  in  the  evolution  of  the  history 
of  art,  and  because  also,  in  a matter  which  concerns  a 
devotional  object  of  such  frequent  and  universal  use, 
which  is  more  often,  perhaps,  now  made  in  ivory  than 
in  any  other  material,  it  is  surely  desirable  that  the  in- 
fluence of  the  best  traditions  should  make  themselves 
felt.  And  the  suggestion  may  at  least  be  hazarded  that 
the  truest  and  best  form  of  expression  might  be  found 
midway  between  that  of  extreme  archaicism  and  the 
soulless,  undraped  figure  which  has  no  more  devotional 
inspiration  than  the  most  undiluted  work  of  pagan  art. 

Before  leaving  the  times  when  religion  exercised  a 
purer  influence  on  art  than  it  did  after  the  renaissance, 
we  must  cast  a glance  at  the  few  pieces  of  importance 
of  a religious  character  with  which  the  sixteenth  cen- 
tury supplies  us,  and  at  other  minor  religious  objects  in 
ivory  not  hitherto  touched  upon.  Though  small  in 
number,  those  which  will  be  selected  will  suffice  to  show 
that  if  a period  of  decadence  set  in  later,  at  least  the  fall 
was  not  an  absolutely  sudden  one,  and  that  this  century 
still  possessed  some  artist  sculptors  in  ivory  of  not  in- 
considerable talent. 

The  Flagellation  is  a subject  that  w'e  should  expect 
to  find  not  unfrequently  treated,  amongst  incidents  of 
the  Passion,  on  diptychs  and  triptychs,  and  other  re- 
ligious objects  in  the  middle  ages  ; but  it  would  seem, 
as  in  the  case  of  the  Crucifixion,  to  have  been  avoided 
in  earlier  times.  We  do  not  meet  with  many  instances 
in  ivory  previous  to  the  thirteenth  century.  One  is  a 
small  plaque,  German,  of  the  tenth  to  twelfth  century, 
in  the  Sneyd  collection.  Our  Lord  is  fastened  to  a 
branching  tree,  and  stands  on  tiptoe,  while  two  jailers 
inflict  the  blows.  Coming  to  the  sixteenth  century,  we 
have  a very  fine  plaque,  also  German,  from  the  Masked 
collection,  now  in  the  British  Museum.  The  relief  is 
266 


PLATE  LV  TKIPXVCH.  PLOKKNTINE 

SIXIEENTH  CliNTUliY 


RELICxIOUS  ART 

low,  and  the  figures  are  characteristic  of  the  type  and 
costume  of  the  period.  The  design  and  action  are  very 
good  and  boldly  expressed.  Our  Lord  is  bound  to  a 
pillar,  one  jailer  seizes  Him  by  the  hair,  another  holds 
a lanthorn,  and  in  the  upper  angles  are  two  cherubs. 

A magnificent  triptych  in  the  museum  of  the  Louvre 
shows  in  a marked  manner,  in  the  character  of  the 
figures,  in  the  architecture,  and  in  the  general  style,  the 
period  of  transition  from  the  fashion  of  the  three  previous 
centuries  to  that  which  came  in  with  the  renaissance. 
The  groups  are  more  dramatic  and  less  conventional, 
and  the  same  spirit  of  more  realistically  dramatic  action 
goes  on  increasing,  and  is  exemplified  in  the  fine  group 
of  the  deposition  from  the  cross  in  the  Florence  National 
Museum,  which  has,  with  little  authority  and  less  prob- 
ability, been  attributed  to  Michael  Angelo.  The  Louvre 
triptych  shows  a master  hand,  not  copying  from  contem- 
porary sculpture,  but  of  original  conception  and  of  excel- 
lent execution.  It  is  Florentine  work  of  the  beginning 
of  the  sixteenth  century,  possibly  later;  and  Molinier, 
in  his  Histoire  Gdndrale,  reminds  us  that  it  is  in  the 
style  of  the  sculptures  in  marble  of  a celebrated  Floren- 
tine master  of  the  second  half  of  the  fifteenth  century — 
Benedetto  da  Majano — and  that  it  is  well  known  that 
this  master  executed  for  Mathias  Corvinus,  king  of 
Hungary,  some  works  which  recall  by  their  technique 
the  methods  of  ivory  sculptors  of  the  time.  The  tradition 
also  exists  that  this  triptych  was  made  for  the  king  of 
Hungary. 

Following  on,  we  have  a charming  Madonna  and 
Child,  labelled  Hispano- Flemish  work,  also  in  the 
Louvre  Museum  ; very  different,  indeed,  in  its  realism, 
type,  and  costume  of  the  period — the  waved  hair,  the 
long  curls,  a jewel  on  a band  encircling  the  forehead — 
from  the  statuettes  of  the  thirteenth  century,  but  still  of 
a delightful  and  attractive  character.  Note  also  the 
preservation  of  the  idea  of  the  holy  Child  playing  with 

267 


IVORIES 

a bird,  which  was  so  frequent  an  accompaniment  of  the 
earlier  kind. 

We  find  other  instances  of  the  commencement  of  the 
transition  in  styles,  for  example,  in  the  little  French 
triptych  at  Kensington,  in  the  centre  panel  of  which 
two  angels  uphold  a monstrance,  having  an  opening  in 
it  for  a small  reliquary,  the  grounds  of  the  leaves  diapered 
with  fleurs-de-lys  and  delicately  hatched  lines.  A similar 
triptych  is  in  the  Louvre.  And  again,  a plaque  in  the 
Louvre  with  Louis  XL  at  his  prayers,  his  hat  on  the 
ground,  though  we  do  not  detect  the  little  leaden  images, 
in  the  manner  with  which  we  are  familiar.  There  are 
also  the  hatched  ground  and  the  fleurs-de-lys.  Nor 
must  an  admirable  plaque,  representing  the  martyrdom 
of  St.  Sebastian,  of  Italian  late  fifteenth-century  work, 
in  the  Kensington  Museum,  be  forgotten.  It  is  in  low 
relief  on  a background  of  dark  wood,  the  saint  unclothed 
and  bound  to  a tree,  his  hair  falling  in  rows  of  curls 
down  his  back. 

Of  religious  sculpture  in  ivory,  other  than  crucifixes, 
of  later  date  than  the  sixteenth  century,  but  two  examples 
call  for  any  particular  notice.  One  is  the  plaque  in  the 
British  Museum  representing  our  Lord  upheld  by  angels 
after  the  descent  from  the  cross.  It  is  in  very  deep — 
more  than  two  inches  deep — relief.  Cicognara,  in  his 
Storia  della  Scnlliira,  speaks  of  it  with  great  admiration, 
and  supposes  it  to  have  been  executed  by  the  pupils  of 
Valerio  Vicentino  and  Giovanni  Bernardi ; and  Digby 
Wyatt  goes  further,  for  he  says,  “In  this  sublime  and 
beautiful  work  of  art  I recognise  the  ultimate  perfection 
of  cabinet  carving  in  ivory,  having  never  seen  a specimen 
equal  to  it.”  These  are  strong  expressions,  and  may 
have  been  intended  to  apply  only  to  sculpture  of  the 
period  in  which  it  was  executed.  On  the  other  hand, 
Labarte  says  that  the  modelling  is  hardly  correct,  the 
figures  commonplace,  the  limbs  too  thin  {Hist,  des  arts 
indiistl).  A curious  criticism,  especially  \vith  regard  to 
268 


! '*^4 


PLATE  LVn  1.  PLAgUE.  BV  FAVDIIERBE?  c.  PLAQUE.  ITALIAN 

SEVENTEENTH  CEKTERV 


SIXTEENTH  CENTURV 


RELIGIOUS  ART 

the  modelling  of  the  limbs.  However  this  may  be, 
there  are  some  grounds  for  supposing  it  to  be  the  work 
of  Andreas  Faistenberger,  whose  crucifixes  have  already 
been  described.  There  is  an  almost  identical  piece 
attributed  to  him  in  the  museum  at  Munich.  The  head 
of  the  dead  Christ  bears  not  a little  resemblance  to  that 
of  Faistenberger’s  crucifix,  and  the  modelling  is  of  the 
same  firm  and  decided  style.  It  remains,  however,  to 
be  noted  that  the  group  is,  with  slight  modifications,  a 
reproduction  of  a fine  marble  bas-relief  by  Girolamo 
Campana  (1552-1623),  in  the  church  of  St.  Giuliano  at 
Venice,  and  this  of  course  somewhat  discounts  its  value 
as  an  original  work.  Undoubtedly  Faistenberger,  with 
many  other  of  his  contemporary  ivory  sculptors  in 
Germany,  drew  his  inspiration  and  models  from  his 
long  stay  and  artistic  education  in  Italy.  Without  any 
evidence  that  Girolamo  Campana  himself  worked  in 
ivory,  we  cannot,  of  course,  venture  to  suggest  that 
either  of  these  pieces  are  by  him,  nor  if  he  did  does  it 
seem  likely  that  he  would  repeat  his  bas-relief  in  this 
way.  As  a fine  ivory  reproduction  it  may  perhaps 
remain,  for  what  this  may  be  worth,  to  the  credit  of 
Faistenberger. 

The  British  Museum  has  an  example  of  the  work  of 
Christoph  Angermair,  a plaque  with  the  Temptation  of 
our  Lord  deeply  cut,  with  a landscape  background  in 
perspective.  It  is  signed,  and  dated  1616.  It  is  not 
remarkable  except  as  an  instance  of  extreme  patience 
and  minute  elaboration  of  blades  of  grass,  leaves  of 
trees,  and  so  on.  We  shall  have  better  work  of  his  to 
consider  in  the  succeeding  chapter. 

A curious  memento  7nori  of  the  fifteenth  century  has 
already  been  mentioned.  Many  little  works  of  the  kind 
may  be  said  to  have  been  fashionable,  either  for  rosary 
beads  or  as  single  objects.  In  the  British  Museum  is 
a very  gruesome  but  elegant  specimen  of  sculptured 
ivory  and  goldsmith’s  work.  It  is  by  Christof  Harrich, 

269 


IVORIES 

a German  decorative  artist  of  the  latter  part  of  the  six- 
teenth century — a skull  and  a human  head  in  life  placed 
back  to  back — of  ivory  mounted  in  gold  and  enamel. 
Another,  in  ivory,  represents  in  one  half  the  vertical 
section  of  a fashionable  lady’s  head,  attired  in  ruff  and 
wearing  jewels  ; the  other  half  is  a grinning  death’s 
head.  A third  example  is  a very  large  death’s  head, 
with  worms  and  other  horrible  creeping  things  craw’ling 
in  and  out ; a kind  of  thing  one  would  expect  in  a 
Japanese  netsuke.  And,  indeed,  all  these  little  objects 
have  a curious  resemblance  to  netsukes.  A devotional 
head  of  the  kind  is  in  the  Mayer  Museum  at  Liverpool. 
It  is  French  work  of  the  fifteenth  century,  and  represents 
on  one  side  the  face  of  our  Lord  crowned  with  thorns, 
from  which  drops  of  blood  stream  down.  On  the  other 
side  is  a man’s  head,  half  skull,  half  covered  with  flesh 
as  in  life.  Again,  for  rosary  beads  we  have  the  heads 
of  a monk  and  of  an  aged  man  wearing  a ducal  coronet, 
or  a negro’s  head,  with  curly  hair,  wearing  a cap  with  a 
jewelled  band.  And,  again,  a set  of  eight  heads  repre- 
senting an  emperor,  a bishop,  a noble  lady,  a knight,  an 
old  lawyer  or  judge  with  spectacles  on  nose,  and  so  on. 
The  fashion  in  nearly  all  such  examples  is  tw^o  heads 
adossees — as,  in  the  Louvre,  a Flemish  rosary  bead  with 
a head  of  Christ  crowmed  with  thorns,  and  on  the  back 
a Magdalen  in  the  headdress  of  the  period.  Finally, 
for  one  more  example,  also  in  the  Louvre,  a whole  rosary 
of  sixteenth-century  Flemish  work  composed  of  six 
large  and  fifty-tw'O  smaller  beads,  each  bead  consisting 
of  four  heads  back  to  back  ; heads  of  Christ,  and  of 
male  and  female  saints  with  headdresses  or  coiffures 
of  the  period,  and  all  of  veiy^  careful  workmanship.  Of 
a somewFat  different  kind  are  some  larger  figures  some- 
times met  with.  One  is  in  the  Ashmolean  Museum, 
eight  inches  high — a woman  slightly  draped,  and,  at 
the  back,  a skeleton  in  a shroud. 


270 


CHAPTER  XII 


POST-RENAISSANCE  SCULPTURE  IN  IVORY 

IT  is  a new  art,  a new  fashion  that  meets  us  at  the 
beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century,  if  we  remember 
that  up  to  about  that  time  ivory  carving  was  almost 
entirely  restricted  to  work  for  the  service  of  the  Church 
or  of  a devotional  character,  with  the  exception  of  a 
certain  number  of  motives  taken  from  classical  models 
or  from  mediaeval  romances  for  the  decoration  of  caskets, 
mirror  cases,  and  the  like.  The  direct  influence  of  the 
Church  had  waned.  Therefore  it  is  that  we  must  not 
look  with  the  same  eyes  as  we  did  when  we  had  before 
us  the  work  of  the  thirteenth  or  fourteenth  centuries,  or 
compare  from  the  same  point  of  view  the  “Descent  from 
the  Cross”  in  the  Florence  Museum  with  the  fragmentary 
piece  of  the  same  subject  {Frontispiece)  in  the  Louvre. 
The  untranslatable  devotional  feeling  is  absent.  Instead 
of  the  artists  being  men  to  whom  their  work  was  a voca- 
tion, an  act  of  religion  in  itself,  they  were  mercenary 
craftsmen  who  appealed  to  the  senses,  who  strove  to 
produce  an  effect  by  dramatic  means,  whose  aim  was 
solely  aesthetic,  and  who  were  influenced,  moreover,  by 
the  necessity  of  pleasing  their  patrons.  In  the  first 
case  the  beauty,  the  art,  was  innate  in  the  unconscious 
worker.  His  first  idea  was  to  teach,  and  his  gifts 
ensured  that  his  teaching  should  be  delivered  in  a 
beautiful  manner.  In  the  middle  ages,  unknown  though 
their  names  may  be,  it  is  evident  that  the  ivory  carvers 

271 


IVORIES 

were  a class  apart.  Later  on,  and  up  to  our  own  time, 
when  we  find  an  uncommonly  fine  piece,  it  is  by  a great 
sculptor,  distinguished  also  in  other  ways,  who  has  elected 
to  work  now  and  again  for  distraction,  as  it  were,  in  this 
material. 

Now,  on  the  other  hand,  we  shall  see  the  ivory 
carvers  following  the  taste  of  the  time.  The  nude, 
formerly  entirely  absent,  is  eagerly  seized  upon,  and 
naturally  so,  for  there  could  be  no  more  charming 
material  with  special  qualities  of  its  own  wherewith  to 
express  it.  We  do  not  wholly  lose  religious  subjects, 
but  in  times  when  the  rococo  style  runs  riot  we  must 
expect  to  find  the  usual  meretricious  accompaniments 
of  figures  of  sprawling  angels  and  cherubs,  and  alle- 
gorical anachronisms  combined  with  tasteless  adorn- 
ments and  framings  of  curly  scrollwork  and  overloaded 
foliage.  We  leave  behind  us  the  ages  of  faith.  The 
spirit  of  inquiry  takes  its  place.  Realism  and  a follow- 
ing of  nature  are  substituted  for  conventional  forms. 
Everything  has  to  be  expressed.  People  are  no  longer 
satisfied  with  the  simple  sign-language  of  mediaeval 
times,  by  which  a gesture,  a fold  in  a robe,  or  one  or  two 
figures,  told  so  much  in  a kind  of  pictorial  shorthand. 

We  have  seen  the  art  of  ivory  carving  at  the  period 
of  its  highest  development  in  the  middle  ages,  when,  if 
it  may  have  been  equalled  in  other  branches  of  art,  at 
least  it  was  surpassed  by  none.  We  have  now  to  trace 
the  history  of  its  decline,  for  it  must  be  admitted  that 
the  period  of  neglect  and  decadence,  which  to  a great 
extent  set  in  about  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth,  be- 
came accentuated  in  the  seventeenth,  and  culminated  in 
the  eighteenth  centuries.  Yet  as  it  shared  this  decadence 
with  most  of  the  other  plastic  arts  of  the  periods,  which 
have  been  nicknamed  baroqtte  or  rococo,  so  also  we  shall 
find  exceptions  which  will  justify  the  attention  which 
may  be  given  to  them. 

To  account  for  the  position,  it  will  not  be  without 


POST-RENAISSANCE  SCULPTURE 

interest  to  refer  briefly  to  the  condition  of  art  generally 
from  the  time  of  the  renaissance,  confining  ourselves 
as  much  as  possible  to  the  direct  influences  which  affected 
ivory  carving  itself. 

Everyone  is  acquainted  with  the  change  of  system 
in  the  practice  of  all  the  arts  which,  brought  about  by 
various  causes,  took  place  about  the  end  of  the  fifteenth 
century,  and  the  name  of  Renaissance,  by  which  it  is 
universally  known.  It  was  foremost  above  all  in  Italy, 
and  the  return  of  the  popes  to  Rome  after  their  long 
exile,  the  taste  for  antiquities  and  collecting  them,  the 
unearthing  of  the  old  pagan  monuments  of  the  imperial 
city,  the  revival  of  classical  literature,  the  lead  which 
the  Church  itself  took  in  the  protection  and  encourage- 
ment of  artists,  the  general  prosperity  and  the  excessive 
riches  of  the  Italian  princes  consequent  on  the  release 
from  the  charges  of  war  which  had  previously  weighed 
heavily — all  this  contributed  to  form  an  epoch  of  ex- 
uberant enthusiasm  for  the  arts,  and  especially  for  those 
which  encouraged  a taste  for  splendour  and  a lavish  use 
of  the  precious  metals,  enamels,  and  the  other  produc- 
tions of  the  goldsmith  and  silversmith.  It  is  hardly 
within  our  province  to  do  more  than  recall  some  features 
and  great  names  of  this  important  epoch.  But  as  all 
the  arts  hang  together,  it  will  be  useful — nay,  it  is  neces- 
sary— to  bear  in  mind  the  progress  of  the  revival  from 
the  time  of  him  who  has  been  called  the  father  of  renais- 
sance sculpture — of  Nicola  of  Pisa — in  the  middle  of 
the  thirteenth  century.  Following  him  come  the  great 
names  of  Ghiberti,  maker  of  the  famous  gates,  of  Dona- 
tello, of  Verrocchio,  and  the  change  from  the  methods 
which  had  previously  prevailed  to  a more  dramatic  and 
pictorial  treatment,  and  to  the  more  common  use  of  per- 
spective, and  we  must  take  into  account  the  schools 
which  developed  under  these  influences.  It  will  be 
necessary  to  remember  the  influence  of  such  names  as 
Della  Robbia,  of  the  great  goldsmiths,  of  Francia  and 

T 273 


IVORIES 

of  Cellini,  of  Briot,  Visscher,  and  the  Jamnitzers,  of 
the  bronzists,  of  Michael  Angelo,  of  Giovanni  di 
Bologna,  of  Diirer,  and  Beham,  and  Krafft.  The  diffi- 
culty is  to  make  a representative  choice  before  we  arrive 
at  the  period  of  general  decline  and  the  degeneration  of 
taste  which  affected  an  unhealthy  copying  of  the  antique, 
an  appeal  to  more  commonplace  intelligence,  a love  of 
display  and  extravagance  which  without  restraint  be- 
comes vulgarity,  and  an  inability  to  distinguish  the 
lesser  value  of  technical  tours  de  force  compared  with 
the  simplicity  which  marks  the  productions  of  genius. 

It  has  been  shown  that,  compared  with  the  wealth 
of  ivory  carving  which  the  thirteenth  and  fourteenth 
centuries  afforded  us,  the  fifteenth,  and  especially  the 
sixteenth,  are  singularly  poor  in  really  fine  work.  The 
reasons  for  this  dearth  were  probably  various,  and  have 
already  been  partly  alluded  to.  Another  reason  may 
possibly  have  been  that  the  supply  of  the  raw  material 
may  have  failed  about  these  periods.  Yet  another  cause 
may  be  found  in  the  popularity  and  perfection  which  the 
art  of  wood  carving  attained,  especially  in  Germany  and 
Flanders,  in  the  late  fifteenth  and  the  sixteenth  centuries. 
The  material  abounded,  and  the  roll  of  great  names  com- 
prises those  of  the  most  celebrated  artists  of  these  times. 
There  is,  of  course,  an  affinity  in  technique  between  the 
arts  of  sculpture  in  wood  and  ivory ; and  if  we  cannot  point, 
perhaps,  with  any  certainty  to  carvings  in  ivory  which 
have  come  down  to  us  from  the  hands  of  the  greatest  of 
the  wood-carvers,  still  it  can  hardly  be  doubted  that  many 
of  them  must  also  from  time  to  time  have  chosen  that 
medium.  Whether  this  may  have  been  so  or  not,  nothing 
can  be  more  certain  than  that  we  cannot,  of  the  later 
times  to  which  we  are  coming,  now  show  anything  in 
any  way  approaching  such  things  as,  for  example,  the 
Adam  and  Eve,  in  pear  wood,  by  Diirer,  in  the  Saxe- 
Coburg  collection,  or  his  busts  in  the  Kensington 
Museum;  nothing  with  such  character  as  the  wonderful 
274 


POST-RENAISSANCE  SCULPTURE 

group  of  the  Entombment,  and,  again,  the  three  nude 
coloured  figures,  back  to  back,  by  Tielmann  Riemen- 
schneider ; nothing  so  charming  as  that  Nuremberg 
figure  of  the  Virgin,  in  which  she  stands  with  clasped 
hands  and  uplifted  eyes,  in  the  wimple  and  veil  of  the 
period.  Nor  can  we  point  to  anything  which  recalls 
the  work  of  Veit  Stoss  and  Adam  Krafft,  and  their 
followers,  or  of  the  Jbrg  Syrlins  and  the  Suabian 
school,  of  the  masters  of  the  Upper  Rhine,  of  Michael 
Wohlgemuth,  of  the  Augsburg  and  Nuremberg  schools, 
of  Michael  Pacherl,  Stoberl,  and  the  wood-carvers  of  the 
Tyrol,  of  Bohemia  and  Hungary. 

Instead,  in  the  mass  of  ivory  carving  which,  in 
Germany  especially,  was  turned  out  in  the  seventeenth 
century,  we  shall  have  to  wade  through  the  interminable 
series  of  gods  and  goddesses,  pseudo-classical  copies 
from  the  antique,  bacchanals  and  satyrs,  and  the  pre- 
valence of  the  school  of  Rubens — work  poor  in  character 
and  destitute  of  originality.  Everywhere  the  nude 
statuette  abounds,  but  it  is  nudity  of  a commonplace 
and  insipid  type.  We  shall  have  enough  of  it  and  to 
spare.  Happily  we  have  not  to  judge  all  ivory  carving 
of  the  period  by  this  standard,  or  it  would  hardly  have 
been  necessary  to  write  this  chapter;  and  we  shall  be 
able  to  sift  out  from  the  mass  sufficient  to  convince  us 
that  in  ivory  carving  there  were  still  masters  in  those 
days,  and  that  the  healthy  traditions  of  art  had  not  been 
altogether  abandoned.  We  shall  come  across  such  things 
as  the  sixteenth-century  Italian  dagger  or  knife  formerly 
in  the  Spitzer  collection,  which  in  the  Louvre  is  known  as 
the  knife  of  Diane  de  Poitiers,  the  sceptre  of  Louis  XIIL, 
the  Goujon  (so  called),  and  other  Italian  powder-horns, 
the  Rothschild  hunting-horn,  the  German  Psyche  in 
the  Louvre,  the  young  girl  and  Death  in  the  Munich 
Museum.  Here  at  least  is  originality,  here  is  talent  of 
the  first  order.  Besides,  even  the  lesser  names  cannot 
be  wholly  overlooked,  and  history  must  not  give  way 

275 


IVORIES 

entirely  to  criticism.  Nor  must  we  forget,  in  coming  to 
the  seventeenth  century,  that  whatever  reproaches  may 
be  levelled  against  a large  proportion  of  the  ivory  carving 
of  that  time,  it  is  equally  applicable  to  the  condition  of 
all  the  sculptural  arts  from  the  time  when  the  baroque  or 
rococo  style  prevailed  till  it  happily  went  out  of  fashion. 

The  most  striking  impression  which  one  gets  from 
the  great  mass  of  ivory  sculpture  in  the  seventeenth 
century,  apart  from  the  selection  of  subject,  which  was 
due,  and  not  unnaturally,  to  the  prevailing  taste  of  the 
time  for  classical  adaptations,  and  for  nudities  of  all 
kinds,  is  the  want  of  originality  in  ideas.  Nor  can  it 
be  denied  that,  speaking  generally,  the  artists  were  of 
inferior  rank.  Ivory  carving  was  not  a profession  by 
itself.  In  many  instances  it  can  hardly  be  said  to  have 
been  the  work  of  individual  artists,  but  rather  to  have 
been  abandoned  to  the  artisans  of  trade  workshops, 
much  in  the  same  way,  in  fact,  as  we  find  too  commonly 
the  case  in  the  silversmith’s  and  other  decorative  work 
of  the  present  day.  But  even  when  we  come  to  examine 
the  better  class  of  work,  which  will  not  unreasonably 
claim  our  attention,  we  shall  find  frequently  among  the 
artists  a want  of  spontaneous  feeling.  They  were  con- 
tented to  borrow  their  subjects  from  classical  and  other 
sources,  and  even  then  often  not  at  first  hand,  but  from 
existing  works  in  painting  or  engraving,  in  the  same 
way,  it  may  be  said,  that  some  Limoges  enamellers  did. 
Their  inspirations  came,  not  from  models  or  designs 
made  especially  for  their  own  craft,  but  from  any  works 
of  the  great  masters  which  fell  into  their  hands.  They 
transformed  compositions  of  paintings  and  engravings 
into  bas-reliefs,  and  altered,  reduced,  and  adapted  from 
existing  monumental  sculpture,  from  marble,  stone, 
bronze,  and  gold  and  silver  smiths’  work  ; from  wood 
and  honestone.  They  appear  to  have  cared  little  for, 
or  were  ignorant  of,  the  special  requirements  and  char- 
acteristics of  their  art,  and  of  the  material  in  which  they 
276 


POST-RENAISSANCE  SCULPTURE 

were  to  work.  They  attempted  too  much,  and  in  the 
wrong  direction.  The  greatest  artists  alone  are  capable 
of  combining  the  pictorial  and  sculptural  arts.  What, 
indeed,  can  be  said  when  we  find,  for  example,  a reduction 
in  ivory  bas-relief  of  the  “ Last  Judgment,”  by  Michael 
Angelo,  as  in  a plaque  by  the  brothers  Steinhard  at 
Vienna?  Again,  if  they  were  compelled  to  copy  so 
much,  it  is  to  be  regretted  that  they  did  not  feel  them- 
selves drawn  for  that  purpose  to  the  great  masters  who 
had  not  long  preceded  them.  They  were  infected  by 
the  detestable  taste  of  the  time,  and  some  allowance 
must  be  made  also  for  the  exigencies  of  their  patrons. 
It  would  appear  that,  for  them,  the  style  of  the  Florentine 
and  Lombard  schools  of  the  fifteenth  century,  of  Agostino 
di  Duccio,  of  Donatello,  of  Rossellino,  or  of  Mantegazza, 
had  no  charm.  There  is  no  note  of  these  in  any  of  the 
work  which  we  can  bring  forward.  Instead,  they  chose 
Bernini. 

However  varied  the  quality  may  have  been,  the  art  of 
ivory  carving  became  extremely  popular  throughout  the 
whole  of  the  seventeenth  and  succeeding  centuries, 
especially  in  Flanders  and  Germany,  and  the  amount 
of  ivory  consumed  must  have  been  enormous.  It  is 
hardly  too  much  to  say  that  it  became  an  absolute  pas- 
sion, and  entered  into  the  decoration  of  every  description 
of  object  to  which  art  could  be  applied.  It  would  be 
almost  impossible  to  enumerate  all  the  various  applica- 
tions which  were  found  for  it.  Statuettes  and  groups, 
plaques  in  low  and  high  relief  as  purely  cabinet  objects 
or  for  the  decoration  of  furniture,  ivory  engraved,  chased 
and  inlaid,  tankards,  cups,  hunting-horns,  and  other 
objects  for  the  chase,  ewers  and  plateaux,  busts,  portrait 
medallions,  crucifixes,  caskets,  toilet  objects,  chess  and 
draughts  men  and  boards,  counter  boxes,  arms  and 
sporting  weapons,  intricate  turnery,  and  a host  of  minor 
objects  of  use  and  adornment,  all  made  a demand  for 
the  employment  of  the  favourite  material.  In  addition 

277 


IVORIES 

there  were  multitudes  of  great  cabinets,  inlaid  and 
adorned  with  figures.  Nor  should  we  omit  the  elegant 
tobacco-graters  which  will  presently  be  noticed,  which 
have  such  a singular  charm  in  the  quaint  costume 
groups.  Even  the  little  nudities  and  Watteau  figures 
which  characterise  them  come  as  a welcome  relief  from 
the  classical  compositions,  the  eternal  Minervas  in 
helmets  and  waving  plumes,  and  the  chubby  little  satyrs 
and  bacchanals  with  their  goats  and  vine  branches. 

Ivory  carving  was  not  only  generally  popular,  but  it 
was  especially  patronised  by  many  of  the  great  princes 
and  electors  of  the  independent  German  states,  who  en- 
couraged the  artists,  maintained  them  in  their  service, 
and  themselves  practised  the  art.  Amongst  those  who 
delighted  in  so  doing  were  Augustus  the  Pious,  Elector 
of  Saxony,  who  founded  the  Dresden  Green  Vaults, 
Maximilian,  Elector  of  Bavaria,  the  princely  family  of 
Fuggers,  Ferdinand  and  Maximilian  II.  of  Bavaria, 
and  the  Elector  George  William  of  Brandenburg.  Peter 
the  Great  also  dabbled  not  a little  in  ivory  carving.  Of 
his  work  there  are  in  the  Green  Vaults  two  snuff-boxes 
and  a ship  in  full  sail,  and  at  the  Hermitage  Museum, 
St.  Petersburg,  are  quantities  of  nick-nacks  and  turnery 
work. 

Taking  into  consideration  the  general  state  of  sculp- 
ture of  the  time,  it  is  to  be  expected  that  amongst  such 
masses  of  ivory  carving  as  abound  in  the  museums 
throughout  Germany,  much  would  be  of  unequal  or 
inferior  merit.  In  some  of  the  allegorical  groups  made 
to  flatter  the  vanity  of  great  princes  the  rococo  style 
outdoes  itself  in  vulgarity  and  bad  taste.  In  such  an 
example,  for  instance,  as  an  allegorical  group  in  the 
Vienna  Museum  by  Christoph  Maucher,  one  feels  that 
the  degradation  oiT  art  could  scarcely  descend  lower 
than  in  this  curious  mixture  of  bewigged  princes,  holy 
figures,  stars  and  masks,  conglomerates  of  cherubs, 
trumpet-blowing  angels,  scrolls,  and  garlands.  It  would 
278 


POST-RENAISSANCE  SCULPTURE 

be  unfair,  however,  to  saddle  ivory  carving  generally,  on 
account  of  such  things,  with  a reproach  with  which  other 
arts  of  the  period  are  equally  tainted. 

In  the  ivory  work  of  the  best  times  of  the  two  cen- 
turies with  which  we  shall  be  principally  concerned, 
there  were,  of  course,  several  schools.  But  it  is  not 
always  easy  to  distinguish  them,  because  it  is  certain 
that  there  was  a great  influx  of  German  and  Flemish 
artists  both  into  Italy  and  into  France.  Many  Flemish 
and  German  artists  lived  long  in  Italy,  and  became  so 
permeated  with  Italian  feeling  that  we  should  rather, 
perhaps,  call  their  work  Italian,  in  the  same  way  as 
that  of  the  Herkomers,  Tademas,  Solons,  and  others 
domiciled  amongst  ourselves  has  become  recognised  in 
English  art.  Van  Opstal  also  is  an  example  of  a great 
Flemish  worker  who  became  settled  in  France. 

Amongst  the  crowd  of  objects  executed  in  ivory,  to 
which  allusion  has  already  been  made,  tankards  and 
tall-standing  cups  hold  a prominent  position.  The  form 
of  the  tusk  suggests  itself  naturally  for  such  uses,  and 
in  the  groups  and  stories  that  run  around  the  drum,  as 
on  a frieze,  we  shall  find  some  of  the  most  charming  of 
any  ivory  carvings  of  these  days.  That  the  best  work 
of  the  best  artists  should  be  bestowed  upon  them  was 
but  natural,  for,  in  addition,  the  most  distinguished 
goldsmiths,  especially  of  Augsburg  and  Nuremberg, 
completed  them  by  their  mountings.  Some  of  the 
finest  figured  in  the  famous  sale  at  Stowe  in  1848,  and 
will  be  found  illustrated  and  described  in  publications 
of  the  time. 

Portrait  medallions  also  are  numerous,  and  if  not  of 
great  importance,  are  to  some  extent  interesting,  though 
they  cannot  pretend  to  the  merit  of  the  more  costly 
works  in  bronze,  or  to  rival  the  productions  either  of 
the  great  bronzists  or  of  the  wood-carvers.  Nor,  again, 
do  they  often  bear  comparison  with  the  best  of  Wedg- 
wood’s portrait  medallions.  They  were  equivalent,  in  a 

279 


IVORIES 

way,  to  the  photographic  portraits  which  we  now  have, 
and  for  such  memorials  advantage  was  taken  of  every 
kind  of  material.  We  find  them  also  in  wax,  in  wood, 
which  was  sometimes  carved,  sometimes  pressed  with 
dies,  and  in  tortoise-shell.  The  finest  work  is  generally 
where  the  relief  is  low. 

Turning  in  ivory  has  always  had  an  attraction  for 
those  who  delight  in  mechanical  skill  and  totirs  de  force, 
and  some  references  will  be  made  in  their  place  to  the 
most  distinguished  turners  and  their  work.  There  is  no 
lack  of  examples  for  those  it  may  interest,  for  it  became 
the  rage.  Princes  and  grand-dukes  encouraged  it,  and 
collectors  vied  with  each  other  for  the  number  and 
variety  of  curiosities  of  this  kind,  some  of  which  have 
also  a certain  amount  of  artistic  value. 

The  chief  centres  of  ivory  carving  in  Germany  seem 
to  have  been  Augsburg,  Munich,  and  Nuremberg,  the 
last,  perhaps,  more  distinguished  for  turnery  and  trick 
pieces.  Geislingen,  Ulm,  Stuttgardt,  and  Gmiind  were 
celebrated  as  early  as  the  sixteenth  century,  and  are  so 
still  as  industrial  factories.  From  them  came  probably 
a large  number  of  the  fine  inlaid  arms  and  powder- 
flasks,  which  will  call  for  special  attention. 

The  ivory  workers  of  Dieppe  are  known  to  all  tourists, 
and  the  town  has  been  famous  and  important  in  this 
industry  since  it  was  first  established  there  in  the  four- 
teenth century.  The  history  is  not  a little  interesting. 
In  1364  the  enterprise  of  some  of  its  merchants  fitted 
out  two  vessels  of  about  a hundred  tons  each,  and 
started  them  for  the  great  African  hunting-grounds. 
Sailing  past  the  Canaries  and  Verde  Islands,  they  arrived 
at  the  mouth  of  a little  river  near  Rio  Sestos,  where  they 
founded  an  entrepdt,  which  they  called  “Little  Dieppe.” 
Evidently  there  was  not  in  those  days  a rage  for  colon- 
isation and  annexation,  or  the  territories  might  be  even 
now  part  of  France.  In  any  case,  they  loaded  up  their 
ships  with  quantities  of  ivory,  amongst  other  productions 
280 


POST-RENAISSANCE  SCULPTURE 

of  the  coast,  and  returned  to  France.  But  though  the 
facts  of  these  voyages  and  of  the  extensive  working  of 
ivory  in  Normandy  are  beyond  question,  there  is  little, 
if  any,  record  of  early  examples  from  here.  Still,  it  may 
be  the  origin  of  much  of  the  best  French  work  of  the 
fourteenth  century.  The  trading  companies  were  joined 
in  their  speculations  by  the  merchants  of  Rouen,  and 
the  statutes  of  the  painters’  and  sculptors’  guilds  of  that 
city  prove  that  the  art  was  practised  there  also,  and  not 
merely  as  turners  or  for  industrial  purposes  only.  The 
bombardment  of  Dieppe  by  the  English  in  1694  put  a 
stop  for  a time  to  the  industry,  and  later  on  it  seems  to 
have  disappeared  almost  entirely.  After  Waterloo  the 
crowds  of  English  tourists  who  visited  France  con- 
tributed to  its  revival,  and  it  is  still  an  important  trade, 
and  to  some  extent  an  art.  Besides  Dieppe,  a consider- 
able centre  in  France  for  ivory  carving  was  St.  Claude, 
in  the  Jura. 

It  is  to  be  regretted  that  our  museums  in  London, 
from  which  most  of  the  examples  throughout  this  work 
have  intentionally  been  drawn,  are  singularly  deficient 
in  specimens  of  the  best  work  in  ivory  of  post-renaissance 
times.  Not  only  so,  but  if  we  are  lacking  in  originals, 
we  are  lacking  even  in  the  fictile  copies,  which  are  such 
an  invaluable  aid  to  study.  The  otherwise  admirable 
collection  of  casts  in  the  museum  at  Kensington  stops 
short  at  about  the  sixteenth  century.  As  a matter  of 
fact,  nothing  seems  to  have  been  added  to  it  even  of  the 
fine  work  of  the  fifteenth  and  previous  centuries  since 
about  the  year  1872.  No  doubt  the  collections  at  Windsor, 
and  the  great  private  collections  throughout  England, 
would  afford  numerous  examples ; but  they  are  not  easily 
accessible,  except  when  lent  for  exhibitions. 

Some  remarkable  pieces  in  the  possession  of  Lord 
Londesborough,  which  figured  in  the  famous  loan  ex- 
hibition of  1862,  must  be  noticed.  Amongst  them  is 
the  ivory  sceptre,  or  main  cie  justice,  of  Louis  XIII.,  a 

281 


IVORIES 

work  of  extreme  elegance.  It  is  surmounted  by  a hand 
pointing  upwards,  with  two  fingers  extended;  round  the 
wrist  is  a ruffle.  The  inscription  in  relief  is  “ lvdovic. 
REX.  FRANCORV.”  Besides  this  are  a German  sixteenth- 
century  dagger,  a fine  Nuremberg  ivory  cup  upheld  by  a 
figure  of  a mermaid,  and  mounted  in  silver  gilt,  and  many 
interesting  caskets,  mirror  cases,  and  other  mediaeval 
objects,  and  the  tenure  and  Scandinavian  horns  already 
noticed.  A grace  cup  in  the  possession  of  the  Howards 
of  Corby  has  a perfectly  plain  bowl  of  ivory,  and  is, 
perhaps,  more  remarkable  for  the  setting  of  goldsmith’s 
work.  Still,  it  is  worth  referring  to.  It  was  presented 
to  the  valiant  admiral,  Sir  Edward  Howard,  by  Katherine 
of  Aragon.  It  has  always  been  known  as  the  grace  cup 
of  Thomas  a Becket.  Possibly  there  may  be  some  reason 
for  this,  as  regards  the  bowl.  On  the  fine  silver-gilt 
mounting  is  “ God.  Ferrare,”  perhaps  the  name  of  the 
goldsmith.  There  is  a good  engraving  of  the  cup  in 
Grose  and  Astle’s  Antiquarian  Repertory,  1808. 

It  is  to  the  museums  of  the  Continent,  especially  to 
those  of  Berlin,  Dresden,  and  Munich,  that  we  must  go 
in  order  to  form  a just  estimate  of  the  value  of  ivory 
sculpture  of  late  periods.  In  addition  to  those  just 
mentioned,  all  German  museums,  Nuremberg,  Cassel, 
Gotha,  Brunswick,  Karlsruhe,Vienna,  and  others,  abound 
in  examples  of  varying  degrees  of  merit. 

Before  proceeding  to  notice  in  detail  some  specimens 
of  the  best  work  of  post-renaissance  times,  and  more 
especially  of  the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth  centuries, 
it  may  be  as  well  to  make  some  reference  to  a few  pieces 
which,  with  or  without  much  reason,  as  the  case  may  be, 
have  been  attributed  to  great  masters  of  the  three  pre- 
ceding eras. 

In  the  sacristy  of  the  Duomo  at  Pisa  is  an  ivory 
statuette  of  the  Virgin  and  Child,  which  Ciampi,  in  his 
notice  of  this  sacristy  (Florence,  1810),  engraves,  and 
states  that  it  is  attributed  to  Giovanni  Pisano  (the  son 
282 


POST-RENAISSANCE  SCULPTURE 

of  Nicola).  It  is,  of  course,  thirteenth-century  work, 
with  the  twist  or  bend  in  the  figure  of  the  period  some- 
what exaggerated,  and  doubtless  there  may  be  a certain 
amount  of  probability  in  the  attribution. 

Of  Albert  Diirer,  a bas-relief  in  the  Munich  Museum 
bears  his  monogram,  and  two  others  in  the  Cluny  Museum 
the  monogram  of  Hans  Sebald  Beham.  But  it  is  well 
known  that  the  practice  of  copying  existing  works,  to- 
gether with  the  signatures,  was  not  uncommon,  and  was 
equally  indulged  in  by  sculptors  in  wood  and  hone- 
stone. 

To  Giovanni  di  Bologna  are  given  a figure  of  Hercules 
at  one  time  in  the  collection  of  Count  de  Nieuwekerke, 
and  a crucifix  in  that  of  M.  Richelot.  Photographs  of 
both  are  in  the  Art  Library  at  Kensington.  Judging 
from  these,  the  first  appears  to  be  a work  of  fine 
character,  and  if  not  by  the  hand  of  Giovanni,  may 
very  well  be  after  a bronze  by  him  or  his  pupil,  Franca- 
villa,  who  is  credited  with  an  ivory  statuette  of  Virtue 
chastising  Vice,  which  is  in  the  Cluny  Museum.  The 
figure  is  perhaps  the  Hercules  now  in  the  Wallace 
Museum. 

There  is  a powder-flask  in  the  Louvre,  said  to  be  by 
Jean  Goujon.  The  carved  work  on  the  horn  has  a youth- 
ful figure,  which  has  certainly  the  charm  of  manner  of 
the  great  French  sculptor,  and  therefore,  even  as  an 
example  from  an  unknown  hand,  is  of  considerable 
importance  and  interest  to  us. 

Finally,  to  Michael  Angelo  many  things  are  attributed, 
amongst  them  a crucifix  in  the  Munich  Museum  and  a 
figure  of  Silenus  at  Vienna,  both  probably  Flemish  work; 
and  Cellini  is  naturally  credited  with  anything  fine  in 
the  way  of  dagger  handles  and  the  like,  also  with  a 
Flagellation  and  a St.  Sebastian  in  the  Palazzo  del 
Podesta  at  Florence.  The  question  whether  Rubens 
himself  carved  in  ivory  is  scarcely  worth  consideration. 
That  he  delighted  in  it,  and  superintended  the  work  of 

283 


IVORIES 

his  favourite  pupil,  Fayd’herbe,  is  certain,  and  the  in- 
fluence of  his  school  is  very  evident  in  ivory  sculpture. 
Too  much  so,  many  will  think. 

We  have,  therefore,  no  positive  evidence  in  the  case 
of  the  great  sculptors  who  have  been  mentioned  that 
they  ever  applied  themselves  to  ivory  carving.  It  is 
highly  probable,  indeed,  that  they  should  have  done  so 
now  and  again;  but  Cellini  makes  no  mention  of  it  in 
his  memoirs,  and,  somehow,  it  would  hardly  appear 
suited  to  the  manner  and  methods  of  Michael  Angelo. 
It  is  more  likely  that  his  pupils  worked  from  his 
numerous  models.  Sometimes  apparently  convincing 
details  of  origin  are  given,  as  in  the  case  of  a Virgin 
and  Child  in  the  collection  of  M.  Goethals  Danneels, 
which  was  exhibited  at  the  Brussels  retrospective  ex- 
hibition in  1880,  and  attributed  to  Michael  Angelo. 
It  is  said  to  have  been  brought  from  Italy  by  Cardinal 
de  Jourdes,  and  given,  about  1616,  to  the  convent  of 
the  Chartreuse  at  Bordeaux  founded  by  him.  A glance 
at  the  style,  which  is  doubtless  extremely  pretty,  is 
sufficient  to  dispel  any  illusions.  However  the  case 
may  be,  in  these  instances  of  uncertain  attribution  we 
have  often  objects  of  considerable  interest  which  we 
may  be  quite  content  to  take  on  their  merits.  A name 
is  easily  given,  and  once  given  it  remains.  There  is 
little  to  be  gained,  as  a rule,  by  seeking  to  father  works 
of  art  by  means  of  comparisons  of  style  and  attempts 
to  see  what  are  often  far-fetched  similarities.  Of  course, 
it  must  always  be  interesting  when  genuine  signatures 
are  discovered,  and  it  may  be  that  such  results  may 
follow  even  from  the  brief  descriptions  and  references 
given  in  this  book. 

From  the  beginning  of  the  seventeenth  century  we 
know  the  names  of  a considerable  number  of  ivory 
sculptors  ; but  as  they  seldom  appear  to  have  signed 
their  works,  it  is  not  always  easy  to  ascribe  these  to 
a particular  artist,  or  from  the  fact  of  so  many  of  the 
284 


POST-RENAISSANCE  SCULPTURE 

latter  having  been  settled  in  Italy,  France,  or  England, 
even  to  be  certain  of  the  country  of  origin.  On  this 
account  we  often  find  ivories  in  collections  and  at  ex- 
hibitions which  are  called  Italian,  but  are  more  probably 
by  Flemish  or  German  artists.  Nagler’s  well-known 
Kunstler  Lexikon  and  Die  Monogrammisteii  are,  of 
course,  useful  guides  to  signatures  and  monograms  and 
to  the  lives  of  artists. 

There  is  little  in  Italian  ivory  sculpture  which  calls 
for  attention.  Crucifixes  have  already  been  alluded  to, 
and  no  doubt  many  of  the  large  number  in  existence 
dating  from  this  period  had  their  origin  in  Italy;  but 
for  the  most  part  there  is  little  to  be  said  about  them. 
Algardi  in  his  quite  youthful  student  days  undoubtedly 
worked  in  ivory,  and  possibly  the  Munich  crucifix  before 
mentioned  may  be  of  his  early  work:  but  it  is  not  a 
matter  of  much  importance.  He  will  always  be  known 
by  his  bronzes.  Of  the  Venetian,  Antonio  Leoni,  who 
appears  to  have  worked  mostly  at  Diisseldorf,  the  Munich 
Museum  possesses  a plaque  in  relief  with  the  “Con- 
version of  Saul  ” — quantities  of  figures  in  the  strife  of 
battle,  the  Saviour  appearing  from  a heaven  of  hard, 
unnatural  clouds,  with  angels  of  the  Cupid  kind.  We 
have  also  in  the  same  museum  some  figures  of  saints — 
the  undraped  St.  Jerome,  so  much  affected  by  many 
ivory  carvers,  and  an  undraped  St.  John  and  several 
plaques  with  nymph  and  satyr,  or  classical  subjects. 
They  are  signed  “Antonius  Leoni  Venetus  F.” 

When  we  come  to  the  country  of  the  great  painters 
of  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth  centuries — of  Rubens, 
of  Teniers,  of  Vandyck  and  Hobbema  and  Rembrandt 
— and  when  we  remember  the  influence  that  Rubens 
undoubtedly  exercised  in  his  studios  on  ivory  sculpture, 
and  the  delight  he  appears  to  have  taken  in  it,  we  shall 
not  be  surprised  that  it  furnishes  us  with  three,  at  least, 
whose  work  is  entitled  to  be  placed  in  the  first  rank  of 
carving  in  ivory  of  the  period  we  are  now  considering. 

285 


IVORIES 


They  are  Francois  Duquesnoy  (better  known  as  “11  Fiam- 
mingo,”  from  his  Flemish  origin),  Lucas  Fayd’herbe, 
and  Gerhard  van  Opstal.  They  are  all  contemporaries, 
and  all — whichever  among  them  was  the  first  to  set  the 
fashion — mostly  to  be  distinguished  in  their  ivory  work 
by  the  groups  or  friezes  of  playing  children,  little  satyrs 
with  goats,  and  nymphs  and  bacchanalian  subjects,  which 
became  later  such  favourite  and,  it  may  be  said,  tiresome 
themes  with  the  ivory  carvers  of  Germany.  But  in  these 
groups  of  nudities,  especially  of  the  children,  although 
it  is  common  to  set  down  anything  good  of  the  kind  as 
the  work  of  Fiammingo,  it  may  be  pointed  out  that  the 
styles  are  pretty  distinct  if,  in  the  unfortunate  absence 
of  signatures,  we  are  right  in  our  attribution  of  such 
and  such  example  to  one  or  other  of  these  three  artists. 
That  is,  one  seems  justified  in  saying  this  is  by  Fayd’- 
herbe, that  by  Van  Opstal,  as  the  case  may  be,  instead  of 
an  indiscriminate  attribution  to  Duquesnoy.  Instances 
will  occur  as  we  proceed. 

Francois  Duquesnoy  was  born  in  Brussels  in  1594, 
and  brought  up  as  a marble  sculptor.  He  seems  to  have 
been  sent  while  quite  young  to  study  in  Italy,  and  while 
there  to  have  applied  himself  to  ivory  carving.  He 
worked  also  in  bronze,  and  on  his  return  to  his  native 
country  he  executed  a considerable  quantity  of  impor- 
tant pieces  of  sculpture  of  various  kinds,  having  already 
made,  amongst  other  things  in  Rome,  some  large 
statues  in  marble,  as,  for  example,  the  St.  Andrew  in 
St.  Peter’s.  With  these  we  need  not  concern  ourselves 
further  than  as  a guide  for  comparison  in  style  with  the 
number  of  figurines  in  ivory  which  in  many  collections 
are  put  down  as  his  work.  One  interesting  specimen  of 
his  modelling  in  bronze  is  the  famous  manneken  at 
Brussels,  to  which  every  tourist’s  attention  is  directed. 
But  Duquesnoy  is  best  known  by  his  plaques  of  youth- 
ful satyrs,  and  other  playing  children,  of  which  we 
possess  the  most  characteristic  in  the  charming  set  of 
286 


PLATE  LVIII  PLAQUES  ATXKIBUTED  TO  DUQUESXOV  (FIAMMINGO) 


SEVENTEEXTH  CENTl'Jv'V 


POST-RENAISSANCE  SCULPTURE 

six  which  are  now  in  the  Kensington  Museum.  It  is 
true  that  no  absolute  authority  exists,  even  for  these,  as 
being  without  question  from  his  hand,  but  they  are 
universally  accepted  as  such,  and  the  name  of  the 
“ Fiammingo  boys”  has  been  given  to  them  for  some 
time.  They  may  be  taken  as  typical  of  his  style,  and 
it  is  easy  to  see  how  the  influence  of  Titian,  which  is 
strongest  in  Duquesnoy’s  work,  distinguishes  them  from 
that  of  Rubens,  under  which  that  of  Fayd’herbe  was 
executed.  It  has  been  somewhat  the  fashion  of  late 
years  to  depreciate  Duquesnoy,  and  to  relegate  him  to 
inferior  rank  amongst  sculptors  ; but  though  opinions 
may  reasonably  differ,  and  may  place  him  below  Fayd’- 
herbe from  certain  points  of  view,  it  is  quite  impossible 
not  to  admit  the  merit  of  these  most  charming  and 
delicately  executed  plaques,  and  with  them  may  be  placed 
another  delightful  plaque  with  Diana  and  her  nymphs 
bathing  in  the  midst  of  a wooded  landscape.  A cast  is 
in  the  museum  at  Kensington,  but  there  is  no  informa- 
tion concerning  the  possessor  of  the  original. 

'All  the  above  are  executed  in  low  relief,  by  which 
manner  they  are  distinguished  from  a great  deal  of  work 
of  the  kind  by  numbers  of  other  ivory  sculptors  who 
followed,  and  the  gain  in  delicacy  and  masterly  treat- 
ment is  apparent  compared  with  the  lumpy  and  confused 
style  which  we  find  in  so  many  small  plaques  with  similar 
subjects  in  German  work.  Of  the  figure  work  in  ivory 
attributed  to  Fiammingo,  there  is  an  extremely  fine  little 
Cupid  bending  his  bow  in  the  Green  Vaults  at  Dresden, 
and  other  figures,  for  the  most  part  nude,  are  to  be  found 
in  many  collections.  When  draped,  the  drapery  is  very 
good  and  careful,  and  from  the  best  classical  models. 
A brother  of  Francois,  Jerome  Duquesnoy,  was  also  an 
ivory  sculptor.  A crucifix  by  him  is  illustrated  in  Maes 
and  Weales’  Objets  d'art  d M alines.  He  came  to  a 
bad  end,  and  was  executed  at  Ghent  in  the  seventeenth 
century. 


287 


IVORIES 

There  were  two  other  sculptors  of  the  name  Fiam- 
mingo,  of  whom,  however,  little  is  known.  It  appears 
from  Bertolotti’s  work  on  Flemish  sculptors  in  Italy 
that  there  was  a Giacomo  Fiammingo  living  in  Rome 
about  1595  who  worked  in  ivory,  and  some  figures  of 
the  Five  Senses,  dated  1565,  are  attributed  to  Giovanni 
Fiammingo.  A large  plaque  in  the  Wallace  Museum, 
carved  in  almost  full  relief  with  the  story  of  David  and 
Bathsheba,  which  is  here  illustrated,  has  written  on 
it  in  ink  beneath  the  base,  “ Giovanni  Fiammingo  a 
Vasazio.”  It  is  late  seventeenth-century  work. 

The  second  of  the  trio  of  Flemish  sculptors  which 
has  been  named  is  interesting  from  many  points  of 
view.  Lucas  Fayd’herbe  was  born  at  Malines  in  1617, 
the  son  of  a sculptor.  At  the  age  of  nineteen  he  entered 
the  school  of  Rubens  at  Antwerp,  and  soon  became  the 
favourite  pupil  of  his  master  in  drawing  and  painting. 
He  then  applied  himself  to  sculpture,  and  besides  his 
work  in  marble,  stone,  and  alabaster,  he  appears  to  have 
taken  up  the  practice  of  ivory  carving  under  the  direct 
incentive  of  Rubens,  and  to  have  executed  when  a pupil 
of  the  painter,  and  from  his  compositions,  a considerable 
number  of  ivories.  He  saw  how  the  diaphanous  texture 
of  ivory,  its  soft  satiny  surface  and  peculiar  sheen,  easily 
amenable  also  to  the  chisel,  was  adapted  to  the  exuberant 
forms,  the  nudities,  and  the  rich  detail  which  characterise 
the  style  of  his  master.  Rubens  himself,  in  the  certifi- 
cate, still  preserved,  which  he  gave  him  on  leaving, 
speaks  in  the  highest  terms  of  his  work  in  ivory,  and 
especially  of  “a  statuette  of  N(otre)  D(ame)  which  he 
has  made  in  my  studio,  alone  and  no  one  aiding  him, 
for  the  church  of  the  Bbguinage  at  Malines,  ‘ morceau 
d’une  beauts  ravissante.’”  In  the  catalogue  of  the  sale 
at  Antwerp  after  the  death  of  the  painter  in  1641 — but 
we  must  remember  that  Fayd’herbe  was  then  only 
twenty-four  years  old — we  find  mentioned  the  following 
works  in  ivory  executed  after  his  designs  : a crucifix,  a 
288 


PLATE  LX  TAXKAKI'  Fi.EMlSH 

Sh'.VRNTi:KN  TU  CENTUKV 


POST-RENAISSANCE  SCULPTURE 

Venus  disrobing,  a Mercury,  a dance  of  children,  a 
Psyche  asleep — the  bed  being  made  of  tortoise-shell — 
and  others — the  greater  number  the  work  of  Fayd’herbe. 
Amongst  them  also  is  “a  salt-cellar  with  sea-nymphs 
and  Tritons  and  with  Cupids  bearing  garlands.”  Where 
this  may  now  be  it  is  impossible  to  say,  but  amongst 
the  photographs  in  the  Art  Library  at  Kensington  is 
one  of  two  ivory  salts,  concerning  which  we  have  no 
information.  They  were  probably  in  the  Field  collec- 
tion. Each  is  composed  of  three  little  naked  boys  or 
Cupids  (one  blindfolded),  back  to  back,  upholding  the 
pool  for  the  salt.  There  are  garlands,  a goat  near  one 
group  and  a mask  by  the  other.  They  are  in  the  style 
of  Fayd’herbe. 

Signatures  of  Fayd’herbe’s  work  in  ivory  are  wanting, 
but  at  the  Prado  Museum,  Madrid,  is  a group  of  Pan 
piping  to  dancing  amorini  which  is  almost  identical 
with  a large  relief  in  terra-cotta  in  the  Palais  du  Cin- 
quantenaire  at  Brussels,  known  to  be  by  Fayd’herbe, 
and  bearing  his  initials,  “ l.f.” 

But  the  most  remarkable  of  the  important  pieces 
which  we  are  inclined  to  ascribe  to  Fayd’herbe  are  the 
tankards  and  standing  cups  mounted  in  silver  gilt,  and 
carved,  as  a rule,  with  dances  or  processions  of  satyrs. 
Of  the  large  number  of  these — many  very  fine — which 
are  distributed  amongst  the  great  museums  and  col- 
lections, it  will  be  sufficient  to  refer  to  three  examples. 
Than  the  first,  a tankard  in  the  Jones  bequest  in  the 
South  Kensington  Museum,  perhaps  no  finer  example 
amongst  tankards  is  anywhere  to  be  found.  It  is  not 
large,  of  elegant  proportions,  and  mounted  in  the  best 
style  of  the  Augsburg  silversmiths’  work.  The  bold 
design,  in  which  the  school  of  Rubens  is  apparent,  is 
admirable  in  the  sobriety  of  taste  so  often  wanting  in 
other  productions  of  the  class.  Had  the  material  been 
wax,  instead  of  the  more  unyielding  ivory,  the  execution 
could  not  have  been  more  free,  or  carried  out  with  a 
u 289 


IVORIES 

firmer  hand.  On  the  drum  is  a mad  dance  around  of 
nymphs,  and  satyrs,  and  little  bacchanalians.  Silenus 
lurches  along — very  drunk  indeed — spilling  the  content^ 
of  his  wine  jar,  a pig,  typical  of  his  condition,  lying 
beside  him  ; and  the  faces  of  the  nymphs  are  charming. 
On  the  lid  sits  a piping  Cupid.  The  quality  of  the  ivory 
itself  is  of  the  choicest,  the  handle  slender  and  graceful, 
and  the  repottssd  silver  work  simple  in  design  and  of 
the  highest  class.  This  tankard  is  alone  sufficient  to 
redeem  the  reputation  of  the  post-renaissance  ivory’ 
sculptors.  Undoubtedly  by  a Flemish  artist,  if  we  see 
in  it  the  influence  of  Rubens,  there  is  at  the  same  time, 
in  the  faces  of  the  nymphs  especially,  and  in  the  boys, 
Italian  feeling  of  the  best  type.  More  need  scarcely  be 
said. 

The  second  example  is  a tall  standing  cup  and  cover 
in  the  Vienna  Museum.  The  design  is  very  similar  to 
the  preceding,  the  same  Silenus  attended  by  female 
satyrs,  a standing  figure  of  a boy  holding  up  a bunch 
of  grapes  on  the  lid;  but  the  figures  are  in  more  detached 
relief,  and  altogether  it  is,  though  fine,  inferior  to  the 
first.  The  goldsmith’s  work  is  of  the  same  character, 
but,  of  course,  there  is  no  handle. 

The  third  tankard  is  in  the  Kunstkammer  at  Karls- 
ruhe, and  we  have  again  a satyr  dance  with  the  same 
character  of  figures  and  a boy  with  grapes  on  the  top; 
but  the  mounting  is  heavy,  and  not  to  be  compared  with 
that  of  the  Jones  tankard.  It  is  to  be  noted,  however, 
that  the  goldsmith’s  work  of  the  Vienna  cup  and  the 
Karlsruhe  tankard  bears,  together  with  the  Augsburg 
pine-apple,  the  mark  “AV”  (a.w.),  possibly  Andreas 
Wickert.  There  were  several  goldsmiths  of  this  name 
in  Augsburg  from  1654-1728.  The  maker’s  mark  on 
the  Jones  tankard  is  “w.s.” 

Whether  or  not  these  three  fine  pieces  are  the  work 
of  Fayd’herbe  it  is  impossible  to  say  with  certainty,  or 
under  what  circumstances  they  came  to  and  were  mounted 
290 


PLATE  LXl  TANKARD.  FLEMISH 


SEVENTEENTH  CENTURY 


as  , 


Si 


J 


-9 


P‘, 


> 


';V' 


'Vr-  . i.-r.'f- V'/ 


PLATE  LXII  Pl.AQUES.  BV  GEKHARl)  VAX  OPSTAL 


SEVENTEENTH  CENTURV 


POST-RENAISSANCE  SCULPTURE 

in  Augsburg.  But  there  can  be  little  doubt  that  they  are 
by  the  same  hand  ; and  we  have  no  German  work,  of 
the  kind,  of  sufficient  merit  to  induce  us  to  give  them 
to  Germany.  The  Jones  tankard  is  described  in  the 
museum  as  by  Fiammingo,  but  comparisons  with  his 
known  work  may  at  least  leave  this  ascription  open  to 
question. 

Fayd’herbe  is  known  by  many  examples  of  sculpture 
for  churches  throughout  Belgium,  amongst  them  the 
high  altar  and  choir  stalls  of  the  church  of  St.  Ram- 
bault  at  Malines,  in  which  city  he  died  in  1697.  There 
is  a boxwood  group,  by  him,  of  the  death  of  St.  John 
the  Baptist,  in  the  Kensington  Museum. 

From  his  long  connection  with  Paris,  where  he 
appears  to  have  been  permanently  settled,  and  from  the 
character  of  his  work,  Gerhard  van  Opstal  should 
perhaps  be  classed  with  French  rather  than  with 
Flemish  sculptors.  Born  at  Antwerp  in  1595,  his  early 
influences  were  undoubtedly  connected  with  the  Rubens 
school.  His  best  productions  are  plaques,  often  with 
floral  borders,  and  with  bas-reliefs  of  naked  figures  of 
the  bacchanalian  type,  amorini  and  Venuses,  young 
satyrs  and  goats.  He  worked  also  as  a sculptor  in 
marble  and  bronze.  He  came  to  Paris  at  the  invitation 
of  Cardinal  Richelieu,  and  was  attached  to  the  court 
of  Louis  XI 1 1.  Very  charming  are  his  bacchanalian 
groups  in  somewhat  low  relief,  and  his  children,  really 
childish,  and  of  the  type  and  surroundings  which 
Boucher,  a hundred  years  later,  loved  to  paint.  In 
these  the  flowing  hair  of  the  little  figures,  streaming  in 
the  wind,  is  amongst  ivory  carvers  very  characteristic 
of  his  style.  We  have  no  information  whether  Van 
Opstal  worked  for  gold  and  silver  smiths,  but  one  is 
sometimes  reminded  of  his  modelling  in  the  figure  work 
of  the  elegant  table  plate  of  his  time.  He  died  in  Paris 
in  1668. 

Some  mention  must  be  made  of  a fourth  Flemish 


291 


IVORIES 


ivory  sculptor,  of  a very  different  calibre  to  the  other 
three.  Francis  van  Bossuit  was  born  at  Amsterdam  in 
1635.  His  work,  which  has  been  much  praised,ls  almost 
wholly  after  the  antique.  We  know  it  principally,  per- 
haps, from  the  numerous  illustrations  by  Barent  Graat 
to  a book  published  either  by  him  or  by  Mathys  Pool 
in  1727.  In  the  title,  which  is  partly  in  English,  Bossuit 
is  described  as  “well  known  and  famous  for  making  the 
most  curious  and  artificial  ivory  work  arising  from  the 
contemplation  of  old  antick  figures  ...  by  his  ingenious 
and  free  manner  of  managing  the  hard  ivory  could  work 
on  it  as  if  it  was  wax.”  There  appears  to  be  very  little 
character  or  originality  about  his  productions.  The 
museum  at  Brunswick  possesses  specimens. 

Ivory  carving  fell  off  in  the  Netherlands,  almost 
entirely,  about  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century,  to 
be  again  revived  in  our  own  time,  by  none  more  enthusi- 
astically or  with  greater  talent  than  by  the  artist  sculptors 
of  that  part  of  the  former  united  kingdom  which  is  now 
Belgium.  This  revival  will,  of  course,  call  for  notice  in 
a subsequent  chapter. 

At  the  head  of  the  list  of  German  ivory  sculptors  of 
the  seventeenth  century  must  certainly  be  placed  the 
name  of  Christoph  Angermair.  He  appears  to  have 
spent  the  greater  part  of  his  working  life  in  Munich  in 
the  service  of  the  art-loving  sovereign,  Maximilian  I.  of 
Bavaria.  His  great  work  is  one  of  the  treasures  of  the 
Bavarian  Museum — a magnificent  coin  cabinet,  made 
for  Elizabeth  of  Lorraine,  wife  of  Maximilian.  He  made 
also  three  other  fine  ivory  coin  cabinets,  now  in  the  same 
museum  ; but  two  of  them  are  rather  combinations  of 
ivory  and  goldsmith’s  work  than  pure  specimens  of  the 
adaptation  of  ivory  to  cabinets.  The  third,  all  of  ivory, 
was  made  for  the  Queen  of  Bohemia,  Elizabeth  Stuart 
of  England.  In  all,  the  richness  of  detail  may  be 
thought  by  some  to  be  excessive. 

The  first  of  these  cabinets  stands  some  eighteen 
292 


PLATE  LXin  COIN  CABINET  BY  CHRISTOPH  ANGERMAIR 


SEVENTEENTH  CENTUK^■ 


r.'.AT/i  LXtr  UOOKS  Ol  COIX  CAHiXKl-.  BY  CHRISTOPH  .\X( '.KK.MAIR 


P O S T-R  E N A I S S A N C E SCULPTURE 

inches  high  by  thirty-two  inches  wide.  It  is  closed  by 
folding-doors,  and  all  the  visible  portions  may  be  said 
to  be  completely  covered  by  rich  sculpture  on  thick 
plaques  of  fine  ivory,  the  whole  surmounted  by  an 
equestrian  statuette  of  the  elector  in  Roman  armour,  and 
by  a sitting  figure  at  each  angle  of  the  coved  top.  Within 
are  twenty-two  sliding  drawers  to  contain  the  coins,  the 
fronts  of  each  drawer  having  ivory  knobs  and  a simple 
decoration  of  rosettes.  On  each  of  the  outer  sides  of 
the  doors  is  an  architectural  composition  in  late  renais- 
sance style,  representing  antique  science  and  numisma- 
tology. The  back  of  the  cabinet  is  sculptured  with 
equal  richness.  The  inner  sides  of  the  doors  are  carved 
with  classical  subjects  in  oval  and  rectangular  compart- 
ments, of  a finer  style  than  we  usually  find  on  German 
work  of  this  kind  and  period.  Whatever  may  be  thought 
of  the  artistic  value  of  this  particular  kind  of  decoration, 
it  was  undoubtedly  in  accordance  with  the  taste  of  the 
day.  Without  implying  that  this  fine  piece  of  work 
will  bear  comparison  with  that  of  the  best  period  of  the 
renaissance,  it  will  be  admitted  to  be  a striking  example 
of  the  application  of  ivory  carving  to  the  utmost  rich- 
ness of  design  in  which  this  richness  has  not  been 
vulgarly  overdone.  The  groups  and  scenes,  though  they 
cover  every  available  inch  of  space,  yet  call  for  separate 
attention,  and  are  not  merely  decorative  without  other 
meaning  or  intention,  as  in  the  case  of  work  of  a similar 
character.  Such,  for  example,  as  the  great  rosewater 
dishes.  It  remains  to  be  added  that,  according  to  some 
authors,  given  by  Dr.  P.  J.  Ree  in  his  life  of  the  painter, 
the  designs  for  the  panels  were  probably  made  for 
Angermair  by  Peter  de  Witte  (Peter  Candid),  court 
painter  of  that  time  to  the  princes  of  Bavaria. 

The  Bavarian  Museum  has  also  of  Angermair’s 
work  a plaque  with  a Holy  Family  in  the  style  of  the 
Italian  renaissance,  signed  by  him  “Cristof  Angermair 
B.H.  von  Minchen  1632,”  and  another,  an  unsigned 

293 


I 

I V O R I E S 

group  of  the  Virgin  and  saints,  also  under  the  influence 
of  Italian  ideas,  but  by  no  means  so  much  to  be  com- 
mended. It  is  doubtful  whether  Angermair  was  ever 
in  Italy.  Mention  has  already  been  made  of  his 
“Temptation  of  Christ,”  in  the  British  Museum. 

George  Betel,  another  Bavarian  sculptor,  studied  in 
Rome,  and  worked  afterwards  both  in  wood  and  ivory 
at  Augsburg.  He  was  influenced  also  by  the  school  of 
Rubens,  with  whom  he  was  intimate.  In  his  work  we 
find  the  usual  run  of  satyr  and  bacchanalian  composi- 
tions, and  plaques  with  saints,  amongst  them  St.  Jerome, 
who,  on  account,  perhaps,  of  the  opportunity  of  repre- 
senting him  in  an  almost  nude  condition,  was  in  such 
peculiar  favour  with  ivory  sculptors  at  that  time.  Many 
large  tankards  are  from  his  hand,  not  unfrequently  with 
plaques  let  into  the  cover  and  base,  a fashion  which 
rarely,  if  ever,  adds  to  the  beauty  of  the  mounting,  or 
that  we  find  on  really  good  specimens  of  Augsburg 
silversmith’s  work.  Betel  died  in  1634. 

Leonhard  Kern,  who  was  born  at  Forchtenberg  in 
1588,  and  died  in  1663,  was  by  no  means  the  least  im- 
portant of  the  Suabian  school  of  the  German  ivory 
sculptors.  His  work  is  distinctly  original,  with  more 
character  than  we  find  in  that  of  the  majority  of  his 
contemporaries.  Like  so  many  others  he  was  a marble 
sculptor,  and  worked  also  in  wood.  The  Berlin  Museum 
has  an  interesting  group,  by  Kern,  of  Adam  and  Eve, 
which  is  treated  by  him  in  an  original  manner.  Both 
figures  are  nude,  Adam  seated,  Eve  apparently  coaxing 
him  to  take  the  apple.  Adam  himself  is  of  a very 
modern  type,  with  hair  in  close,  curling  locks  and  an 
up-to-date  moustache  and  imperial.  The  group  bears 
his  monogram,  and  so  also  does  a St.  Jerome  in  the 
Vienna  Museum.  The  saint  is  of  the  usual  semi-nude 
type,  a curiously  designed  lion  crouching  behind  him. 

Bernhard  Strauss  appears  to  have  been  an  Augsburg 
goldsmith  of  the  latter  part  of  the  seventeenth  century, 
294 


POST-RKNAISSANCE  SCULPTURE 

who,  besides  being  responsible  for  ivory  carving,  worked 
also  in  wood.  We  have  his  signature,  “Bernard  Strauss 
Awrifaber  fecit,”  on  an  ivory  standing  cup  in  the  Vienna 
Museum.  The  museum  at  Kensington  possesses  a tank- 
ard by  him,  formerly  in  the  collection  of  Mr.  Philip 
Henry  Howard,  of  Corby.  The  drum  is  a very  large 
and  fine  piece  of  ivory,  carved  in  high  relief  with  gods 
and  goddesses,  poor  in  design  and  execution.  Nor  can 
the  metal  mounting  be  said  to  be  of  very  good  style  ; it 
is  heavy  and  coarse,  with  curly  ornaments.  The  best 
part  of  the  work  is  the  group  on  the  cover  of  a combat 
between  Hercules  and  a female  centaur,  which  is  really 
good.  The  drum  of  a tall  standing  salt  with  a similar 
subject  of  Minerva  and  the  Muses  in  the  Chdr^mdteff 
collection,  St.  Petersburg,  is  probably  by  the  same 
maker.  The  mount  of  silver  gilt,  consisting  of  a base 
and  pool  for  salt  with  a cover,  is  extremely  good  Russian 
work,  dated  1800.  The  base  is  gadrooned,  with  upright 
handles  springing  from  masks. 

The  work  of  Ignaz  Elhafen  — or  CElhafen  — a 
Nuremberg  artist  of  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth 
century,  although  for  the  most  part  in  the  wearisome 
style  of  plaques  with  complicated  groups  of  nymphs  and 
satyrs,  yet  has  more  character  and  originality  than  is 
usual,  and  a personality  by  which  his  style  is  not  diffi- 
cult to  recognise.  There  is  a good  deal  of  spirit  and 
humour  in  his  compositions;  the  modelling  is  good,  the 
foliage  and  landscape  and  the  handling  generally  not 
altogether  unlike  the  plaque  of  Diana  and  her  attendants, 
in  fact,  of  the  Fiammingo  school.  He  made  also  large 
figures  and  groups — for  instance,  a Bacchus  and  a Venus 
in  the  Munich  Museum — Madonnas,  and  other  things 
of  the  kind ; and  a good  example,  known  as  the  “Augs- 
burg clock,”  is  in  the  Kunstkammer  at  Karlsruhe.  It 
is  in  the  fashion  of  a tall  standing  cup,  the  drum  carved 
with  the  usual  satyr  subjects,  a flat  metal  top  surmounted 
by  a Cupid,  and  the  works  within  the  cylinder.  The 

295 


/ 


IVORIES 

ivory  is  signed,  “ Ignatius  Elhafen  1697.”  Many  tank- 
ards also  are,  no  doubt,  due  to  Elhafen. 

The  work  of  Balthasar  Permoser  (1650—1732),  a 
Dresden  sculptor,  enjoys  a considerable  reputation  in 
German  collections.  The  taste  of  the  time  for  rococo 
figures  and  groups,  pairs  of  “ Spring”  and  “ Summer,” 
and  the  like,  is  characteristic,  and  there  appears  to  be 
nothing  to  call  for  particular  attention. 

J.  Michael  Maucher  (1646)  was  a prolific  worker  of 
the  Suabian  school,  especially  for  the  huge  rosewater 
dishes  and  ewers  used  more  for  decorative  than  for 
practical  purposes.  Made  up  in  separate  pieces,  they  are 
overloaded  with  figures  and  groups  which  no  one  ever 
dreams  of  examining  for  their  subjects,  with  the  fixed 
idea,  apparently,  of  leaving  no  space  unoccupied.  A 
cast  of  a dish  of  the  kind  is  in  the  Kensington  Museum. 
A ewer  by  Maucher,  in  the  Hohenlohe  collection  at 
Wurtemberg,  recalls  nothing  so  much  as  the  sugar 
ornament  surmounting  a wedding  cake.  The  outline  is 
buried  in  a mass  of  horses  and  men,  Cupids  and  foliage 
of  a distracting  kind. 

Mathias  Rauchmiller  was  a Viennese  ivory  sculptor 
of  the  latter  half  of  the  seventeenth  century,  of  whose 
work  there  are  two  excellent  groups  in  the  museum  at 
Munich,  and  casts  from  them  at  South  Kensington 
(Nos.  ’73.440.477).  These  are  the  Centaur  carrying  off 
Proserpine  and  a group  from  the  Rape  of  the  Sabines. 
The  curve  of  the  tusk  and  a large  proportion  of  the 
material  have  been  utilised  in  a very  clever  way.  In 
addition  to  this,  the  anatomy  and  modelling  of  the 
figures  in  both  groups  are  extremely  good.  As  much 
cannot  be  said  for  a poor  reduction  in  the  Vienna 
Museum,  or  rather  an  adaptation  from  Bernini’s  Apollo 
and  Daphne  in  the  Villa  Borghese,  the  original  itself  of  a 
style  which  was  unfortunately  too  popular  and  too  much 
copied  by  the  sculptors  of  the  time. 

A mixture  of  ivory  and  wood — the  ivory  for  the 
296 


POST-RENAISSANCE  SCULPTURE 

faces  and  exposed  flesh,  the  wood  for  the  dress — was  a 
favourite  practice  with  German  ivory  sculptors,  and  not 
without  effective  and  sometimes  extremely  good  results. 
Figures  of  this  kind  were,  for  the  most  part,  of  peasants 
or  beggars,  or,  as  in  the  museum  at  Kensington,  a very 
clever  one  of  an  emaciated  man,  probably  an  illustration 
of  the  “ Dance  of  Death.”  He  dances  along,  with  his 
wasted  limbs,  beating  a drum,  the  nearly  skeleton  face 
grinning,  and  one  empty  eye-socket.  One  of  the  best- 
known  workers  in  this  combination  style  was  Simon 
Troger,  a Munich  sculptor  of  the  early  eighteenth  cen- 
tury. His  work  is  really  remarkable  and  original,  and 
deserves  notice.  Another  was  Wilhelm  Kruger,  of 
Dantzig.  Combinations  with  gold  and  silver  smiths’ 
work  by  jewellers  and  others  were  also  made,  notably 
by  the  last-named  and  by  his  fellow-townsman,  Johann 
Kohler.  It  is  a fashion  which  is  asserting  itself  strongly 
at  the  present  time,  as  we  shall  see  in  a subsequent 
chapter. 

Some  account  must  be  given  of  the  turned  work  in 
ivory,  which  was  such  a popular  distraction  in  the  seven- 
teenth and  eighteenth  centuries.  Doubtless  a consider- 
able amount  of  technical  skill  is  shown  in  work  of  this 
kind,  if  the  art  displayed  in  connection  with  it  is  not  of 
a particularly  striking  character.  The  most  celebrated 
amongst  the  workers  in  this  line,  in  which  Nuremberg 
was  especially  distinguished,  was  perhaps  the  Zick 
family,  the  father  Lorenz  and  his  sons,  David,  Peter,  and 
Stephen,  about  the  second  half  of  the  seventeenth  cen- 
tury. Amongst  many  others  were  Martin  Teuber,  who 
wrote  an  elaborate  treatise  on  the  subject,  Marcus 
Heiden,  and  Fil.  Senger  (i68i).  Two  tall  cups  by  the 
last-named  are  in  the  museum  at  Kensington.  Ivory 
turners  will  understand  and  be  interested  in  the  techni- 
cal description  of  these.  One  of  them  was  “executed 
on  a rose-engine  lathe,  with  pumping  and  rose  motions 
to  give  pentagonal  and  swash  forms,  and  with  slide-rest 

297 


IVORIES 


and  template  for  the  profile.”  The  other  was  turned, 
“ in  eccentric  turned  mouldings,  on  the  ellipse  chuck, 
which  was  itself  mounted  on  a rose-engine  lathe,  with 
both  rose  and  pumping  motions  to  form  the  bulbs.” 
How  much  of  the  actual  figures,  such  as  those  which 
form  the  stems  and  other  intricate  ornament,  is  due  to 
the  operations  of  the  lathe,  must  be  left  to  experts  to 
determine. 

Besides  turned  work,  there  was  a rage  for  trick 
carving,  of  the  kind  in  which  the  Chinese  excel ; balls 
within  balls,  movable  objects  and  the  like,  as  well  as 
marvellous  exercises  of  patient  skill  in  the  shape  of 
minute  carving;  for  example,  several  hundreds  of  tiny 
objects  enclosed  in  a cherry  stone,  and  similar  things, 
with  which  most  people  are  familiar  in  ordinary 
museums.  In  connection  with  minute  carving,  it  may 
not  be  without  interest  to  recall  the  microscopic  work 
of  the  little  religious  triptychs,  rosary  beads,  and  things 
of  the  kind  in  box  wood  and  pear  wood,  with  which 
for  excellence  we  have  nothing  in  ivory  to  compare. 
Very  wonderful  are  some  examples  of  these  in  the 
Rothschild  bequest  in  the  British  Museum  and  others 
in  the  Wallace  collection. 

It  is  unnecessary  to  follow  further  in  detail  the 
lesser  lights  among  the  German  ivory  carvers.  It  will 
be  sufficient  to  name  them,  with  brief  references  in  the 
classified  list  subjoined  to  this  chapter.  Of  the  more 
northern  countries  little  need  be  said.  In  Norway  and 
Sweden  and  Denmark  ivory  sculpture  was  hardly  less 
popular  and  prolific,  but  with  few  exceptions  the  art  is 
deplorable.  The  best-known  artists  worked  for  the 
courts,  and,  to  flatter  their  patrons,  produced  an  ex- 
aggerated mixture  of  pseudo-classic  allegorical  groups  : 
princes  in  Roman  armour  and  full-bottomed  wigs, 
attended  by  Minervas  and  chubby  angels  blowing 
trumpets,  and  so  on,  which  seemed  to  please  the  ultra- 
rococo tastes  of  these  potentates.  One  of  the  greatest 
298 


PLATE  LXV  EXAMPLES  OF  LATHE  WORK.  GERMAN 


EIGHTEENTH  CENTURY 


POST-RENAISSANCE  SCULPTURE 

sinners  in  this  respect  was  the  Norwegian,  Magnus 
Berg,  who  at  the  end  of  the  seventeenth  century  worked 
principally  for  the  court  of  Frederick  IV.  of  Denmark. 

In  France,  the  Dieppe  and  Franche-Comte  schools 
and  the  crucifix  makers  have  already  been  referred  to, 
and  the  religious  work  of  the  sixteenth  century  has 
also  received  attention.  Of  secular  work,  the  charming 
hunting-horn  in  the  collection  of  Baron  de  Rothschild 
is  classed  as  French.  Whether  by  a French  or  Italian 
artist,  it  must,  in  its  simple  elegance,  take  rank  amongst 
works  of  art  of  the  best  period  of  the  Italian  renaissance. 
Curved  into  a semicircle,  it  is  ornamented  with  a delicate 
arabesque  of  slender  wreaths,  cherubs’  heads,  and  flowers, 
of  fine  taste  and  execution.  It  was  formerly  in  the  Foun- 
taine  collection,  and  was  purchased  at  the  sale  by  Baron 
de  Rothschild  for  ^4,452,  the  highest  price  attained  by 
any  object  at  that  sale.  We  have  nothing  of  importance 
in  secular  work  of  this  period  or  of  the  two  following 
centuries  at  Kensington,  nor  is  more  to  be  found  in  the 
Louvre,  except  that  which  has  already  been  mentioned. 

A certain  number  of  late  eighteenth-century  ivory 
carvings  are  not  unfrequently  to  be  met  with  in  England, 
very  often  of  that  kind  of  microscopic  work  upon  which 
a good  deal  of  artistic  talent  of  a kind  is  wasted.  They 
are  probably  due  to  French  refugees  who  came  over 
to  England,  and  were  employed  in  various  factories. 
Nothing  is  known  about  the  artists,  except  of  one, 
Jean  Voyez,  and  even  concerning  him  there  is  not 
much  reliable  information.  The  Holbourne  Museum 
at  Bath  possesses  a plaque  with  a figure  of  Prometheus 
bound  to  the  rock,  and  the  same  design  is  exactly  re- 
peated on  a basalt  vase  in  the  style  of  Wedgwood,  by 
Palmer,  of  Hanley,  also  in  the  same  collection.  It 
appears  from  Miss  Meteyard’s  life  of  Wedgwood  that 
Voyez  worked  for  him  early  in  1768,  but  in  the  following 
year  he  seems  to  have  been  imprisoned  for  rioting,  and 
on  his  release  transferred  his  services  to  Palmer.  In 


299 


IVORIES 


the  Holbourne  Museum  there  are  also  some  dozen  or 
more  open-worked  medallions  or  small  plaques,  hardly 
more  than  two  inches  in  diameter,  in  which  the  ivory  is 
carved  with  an  extraordinary  degree  of  minuteness,  so 
much  so  that  it  is  necessary  to  use  a magnifying  glass 
to  examine  the  details.  There  are  landscapes  with  vessels 
in  the  distance,  in  which  the  tiny  sails  are  of  extreme 
tenuity,  the  rigging  of  hair-like  fineness,  and  the  little 
figures  on  the  shore,  though  scarcely  perceptible,  yet 
finished  in  every  detail.  The  leaves  of  trees  and  blades 
of  grass  are  marvels  of  ingenuity  and  patient  application. 
These  microscopic  works  are  also  attributed  to  Voyez ; 
but  the  evidence  appears  to  be  scanty,  and  if  we  may 
judge  from  his  Prometheus  and  the  designs  which  he 
executed  for  the  potters,  are  hardly  in  his  style.  There 
is,  of  course,  a certain  merit  in  such  things  ; but  they 
cannot  be  compared  with  the  book  cover  in  the  British 
Museum  (see  page  154),  or  with  the  fine  specimens  of 
minute  box-wood  carving  of  the  sixteenth  century. 

Dieppe  was  celebrated  for  tours  de  force  of  this  kind, 
and  for  wonderful  and  intricate  lacework.  The  method 
employed  was  to  glue  thin  sheets  of  ivory  upon  wood, 
and  with  fine  gravers  and  infinite  patience,  backing  up 
the  substance  in  various  ways  as  the  work  proceeded, 
these  tiny  figures  and  foliage,  the  leaves  of  which  a 
breath  would  almost  suffice  to  break,  these  garlands 
and  festoons  and  open-worked  temples  were  achieved. 

Of  the  eighteenth  century  also,  a necklace  of  ivory 
beads  in  the  Wallace  Museum  is  elegant  and  interesting. 
It  was  given  by  Marie  Antoinette  to  the  Princesse  de 
Lamballe.  Each  bead  is  wrought  with  a fleur-de-lys  in 
very  minute  gold  piqiid  work. 

There  remain  only  to  be  noted  the  medallions  by 
David  le  Marchand  and  Jean  Cavalier,  of  which  there 
are  several  examples  in  the  British  Museum.  Medallion 
portraits  were  a speciality  of  Le  Marchand,  and  his 
handling  of  them  is,  in  general,  broad  and  artistic.  One 
300 


PLATE  LXVI 


PORTRAIT  MEDALLIONS  AND  PLAQUES 

SEVENTEF.STH  AN1>  K.OHTEENTH  CENTURIES 


A 


POST-RENAISSANCE  SCULPTURE 

by  him,  of  George  1.  of  England,  in  armour  and  flowing 
wig,  which  seems  to  be  a good  portrait,  is  in  the  museum 
at  Brunswick.  The  George  Richmond  of  his  time,  he 
appears  to  have  settled  in  England,  and  to  have  executed 
medallion  portraits  of  most  people  then  prominent. 
Walpole  mentions  him  with  great  praise  in  his  memoirs. 
Another  portrait  of  George  I.  is  in  the  British  Museum, 
signed  “ Le  Marchand,  carved  from  life.”  A large 
medallion  in  very  prominent  relief  of  Samuel  Pepys  is 
signed  “dlmf.”;  another  is  of  Sir  Christopher  Wren; 
and  there  are  others  in  full-bottomed  wigs,  unnamed. 
A bust  of  Rigaud  was  exhibited  by  Mr.  Alfred  Morrison 
at  the  Burlington  Fine  Arts  Club  Exhibition  of  Bronzes 
and  Ivories.  Le  Marchand  died  in  1726. 

Jean  Cavalier  (1680-1707)  was  scarcely  of  the  force  of 
Le  Marchand,  but  he  executed  a number  of  fine  medal- 
lions of  princes  and  great  people.  He  also  was  domi- 
ciled in  England.  Among  the  portraits  by  him  in  the 
British  Museum  are  those  of  Sophia  Carolina,  electress 
of  Brandenburg,  of  the  duke  of  Brunswick,  and  of  the 
markgraf  of  Brandenburg.  He  signs  in  full  name  or 
initials. 

Of  English  sculpture  in  ivory  of  this  time  we  have 
little  to  which  we  can  refer.  No  doubt  quantities  of 
ivory  were  used  for  all  kinds  of  nick-nacks,  fittings  of 
work-boxes,  counter  and  patch-boxes,  and  the  like,  and 
one  comes  across  at  times  figures  in  costumes  of  the 
period  which  have  a certain  amount  of  interest.  But 
there  is  little  that  can  be  identified.  A satirical  plaque 
in  low  relief  in  the  British  Museum  on  “Orator”  Henley 
is  amusing.  It  is  the  interior  of  a dissenting  chapel. 
The  orator  is  in  the  pulpit  in  gown  and  bands,  with  a 
fox’s  head  over  his  own.  Below  him  is  his  audience,  in 
three  rows,  with  monstrous  animal  heads  and  a dancing 
bear,  and  on  a gravestone  is  inscribed,  “Here  ly . . . body 
of  Col.  Chari.”  Another  inscription  is,  “ Let  those 
not  calumniate  who  cannot  confute.”  Henley  was  an 

301 


IVORIES 


eccentric  preacher  who  indulged  in  all  sorts  of  extrava- 
gances, set  up  what  he  called  an  “oratory,”  and  used 
therein  a good  deal  of  vulgar  abuse.  He  died  in  1756. 

Very  charming  are  many  of  the  curious  implements 
known  as  rappoirs,  or  tobacco-graters  for  snulY,  which 
were  in  constant  use  in  the  seventeenth  and  early 
eighteenth  centuries.  Snuff  was  then  not  often  sold 
ready  made,  so  that  snuff-takers  had  to  prepare  it  them- 
selves. People  went  about  also  from  house  to  house 
with  graters,  the  tobacco  being  tightly  fastened  up  with 
string,  as  sailors  keep  it  now.  Hence  the  sign  on 
tobacconists’  shops  which  still  obtains.  In  Gil  Bias 
we  find  Mathias  da  Silva  “ lying  back  in  an  armchair, 
over  the  arm  of  which  one  leg  was  negligently  thrown, 
he  carefully  balanced  himself  as  he  grated  his  snuff.” 
These  graters  are  usually  of  a kind  of  flattened  cone 
shape,  sometimes  nearly  a foot  in  length  and  broad  in 
proportion,  terminated  at  one  end  by  a sort  of  small 
spoon,  or  shell,  for  the  snuff,  and  at  the  other  by  a little 
box,  with  a sliding  lid,  for  the  reserve,  and  to  catch 
it  as  it  was  rasped  by  the  rasp  on  the  back  ; hence 
the  term  rappee.  They  were  made  of  all  kinds  of 
materials,  in  ivory,  wood,  enamel,  pottery  and  porcelain, 
and  metal,  and  it  became  the  practice  to  decorate  them 
in  various  ways — with  monograms,  coats  of  arms, 
mythological  stories,  Watteau  pictures,  religious  subjects 
(for  ecclesiastics),  and,  in  short,  as  with  snuff-boxes, 
there  was  no  end  to  conceits  and  extravagances.  The 
best  we  have  in  ivory  are  probably  Flemish  or  French. 
Many  are  charming  with  their  reminiscences  of  Beau- 
marchais-like  or  Italian  comedy  scenes,  and  it  may  be 
added  that  the  low  relief  on  the  greater  number  is  more 
in  accordance  with  fine  taste  than  the  type  which  we 
find  so  frequently  in  other  ivory  sculpture  of  the  time, 
to  which  attention  has  been  directed.  Good  examples 
are  in  the  Wallace  collection  ; amongst  them  a very  large 
one,  with  the  fall  of  Phaeton,  another  of  very  white  and 


302 


PLATE  LXVII 


TOBACCO  GRATERS 

SEVENTEENTH  ANIJ  EIGHTEENTH  CENTURIES 


POST-RENAISSANCE  SCULPTURE 

grainless  ivory  with  the  story  of  Actaeon  and  Diana ; 
both  Flemish  of  the  seventeenth  century.  There  is  also 
a very  elegant  one  in  the  Louvre — Flemish,  of  the  end 
of  the  seventh  century,  surmounted  by  figures  of  a faun 
and  a nymph  embracing.  Tobacco-graters  were  some- 
times called  “grivois,”  not,  however,  in  allusion  to  the 
subjects  with  which  some  of  them  were  decorated,  but 
from  the  grivois,  or  soldiers  of  bad  character  who  first 
used  them. 

A bare  mention  must  suffice  for  such  other  things 
as  decorated  knife  and  fork  handles,  which  were  natur- 
ally not  an  unusual  application  of  ivory.  A very  curious 
set  in  the  Kensington  Museum  is  elaborately  carved 
with  figures  of  kings  and  queens  of  England  in  their 
royal  robes,  the  latest  ones — Edward  VI.,  Elizabeth,  and 
James  I. — in  costumes  of  the  period.  They  are  dated 
1607.  Knives  and  forks  of  this  kind  were  often  kept  in 
sets  in  cases  of  ornamented  ciiir-boidlli,  themselves 
beautiful  and  interesting.  Ivory  was  also  used  for  all 
kinds  of  domestic  purposes,  much  as  it  is  now,  but  with 
greater  love  of  decoration.  Thus  we  find  interesting 
examples  of  official  staves,  combs,  mirrors,  billiard-cues 
(a  short  one,  Italian  sixteenth  century  at  Kensington  of 
a good  style  of  engraving),  ladies’  stay-busks,  spindles, 
shuttles,  and  other  work-box  implements;  yard-measure 
cases,  rules  and  measures,  clogs  and  pattens,  the 
magnetic  folding  and  other  dials  called  viatoria,  or 
journey  rings,  hour-glasses,  and  so  on.  An  extra- 
ordinary amount  of  decoration,  often  of  very  high 
merit  in  design  and  workmanship,  was  lavished  on 
many  of  these  where  we  should  be  least  inclined  to 
expect  it;  better  work,  indeed,  than  on  more  pretentious 
things.  Fans  also  must  not  be  forgotten,  the  sticks  and 
guards  pierced  and  chased  in  the  Chinese  fashion,  of 
lace-like  fineness.  A number  of  these  are,  no  doubt,  of 
the  eighteenth  century,  from  Dieppe  ; possibly,  even 
with  European  designs,  not  unfrequently  exported  from 

303 


IVORIES 

China.  The  subjects  are  often  in  the  style  that  we  find 
on  the  snuff-graters,  and  of  very  careful  work.  Ivory 
fans  might,  indeed,  form  matter  for  special  consideration 
which  would  possess  not  a little  interest. 

Ivory  carvings  are  to  be  found  in  every  part  of  the 
world,  and  museums  teem  with  curiosities.  In  the 
British  Museum  is  a large  model  with  many  detached 
figures  in  mammoth  ivory  of  a Yakuts’  encampment. 
There  is  also  a hat  made  of  strips  of  plaited  ivory, 
folded  up  like  a modern  Panama,  which  is  said  to  have 
belonged  to  Queen  Elizabeth.  This  is  not  at  all  un- 
likely, as  it  may  have  been  brought  back  from  the 
English  expeditions  to  the  Benin  country  in  West 
Africa  of  that  time.  At  South  Kensington  we  have 
curious  patient  work  from  Archangel  in  the  shape  of 
extremely  fine  chains  with  minute  links.  Throughout 
the  Malay  peninsula  the  handles  of  daggers  and  krisses 
are  elaborately  carved  and  ornamented  with  figures  of 
deities  and  all  manner  of  strange  shapes  and  decora- 
tions, and  in  the  islands  of  the  South  Pacific,  whales’ 
and  cachalots’  teeth  and  boars’  tusks  are  carved  and  used 
for  ornaments  and  even  for  money. 


A LIST  OF  SOME  SCULPTORS  IN  IVORY  WHOSE  WORK 
IS  KNOWN,  OR  TO  WHOM  WORKS  ARE  ASSIGNED, 
FROM  THE  THIRTEENTH  TO  THE  NINETEENTH 
CENTURY 

THIRTEENTH  CENTURY 

Giovanni  Pisano.  A Madonna  attributed  to  him. 

FOURTEENTH  CENTURY 

Jean  Lebraellier.  Mentioned  in  an  inventory  of  Charles  V.  of  PYance. 
? Jehan  Nicolle.  A pax  in  British  Museum  with  this  name  inscribed. 

FIFTEENTH  AND  SIXTEENTH  CENTURIES 
Giovanni  di  Bologna.  A Hercules. 

Bianchi,  F.  F.  ( + 1 507).  Figure  of  Virgin  signed  by  him  (exhibited 
Burlington  Fine  Arts  Club  Exhibition  by  Mr.  Philip  Hardwick). 

304 


POST-RENAISSANCE  SCULPTURE 

Albrecht  Dlirer.  A plaque  with  his  monogram  (probably  copied) 
at  Munich. 

Lorenzo  da  Pavia  (end  of  sixteenth  century)  worked  for  Isabella 
d’Este,  especially  for  inlay  of  musical  instruments. 

Hans  Beham.  A plaque  in  Cluny  Museum  with  “ H.S.B.  1545,” 
probably  copied.  A naked  figure  of  a woman  in  Nuremberg  National 
Museum. 

Michael  Angelo.  A Taking  Down  from  Cross  and  several  other  things 
attributed  to  him.  See  also  under  his  name  in  “List  of  Works  on  Ivory 
Sculpture”  at  end  of  this  book. 

Jean  Goujon.  A crucifix  and  a powder-flask  in  the  Louvre  have 
been  attributed  to  him. 

Giovanni  Cope  (called  Fiammingo).  “ The  Five  Senses,”  signed 
“ Giovanni  Fiammingo.”  A plaque  in  Wallace  Museum  (described  in 
text). 

Peter  Flottner  ( + 1 546).  See  Graesse,  “ Monogrammisten.” 

Edouard  Lobenigk.  Nuremberg,  1588.  See  Graesse. 

Hans  Lenker.  Nuremberg,  1573.  See  Graesse. 

Hans  Lautensack  (1516).  See  Graesse. 

Paul  Melchior.  Cologne,  1521.  See  Graesse. 

Agostino  Caracci  (1557-1605).  A satyr  and  nymph  in  Correr 
Museum,  Venice. 

Georg  Weckhart  (1587).  See  Graesse. 

Jacob  Hesin  (1586).  Lute.  Music  Exhibition,  London,  1885. 

Giovanni  Krebar.  Padua,  1629.  Ivory  lute. 

Joachim  Tielke.  1701.  A very  fine  Viola  da  gamba  in  the 
Brussels  Conservatoire. 

Antonio  Spano.  An  Adoration  of  the  Magi,  formerly  in  collection 
of  Prince  Lucien  Bonaparte.  Signed  “Ant.  Spano  Tropiensis  Neap, 
incisor.  1555.” 

SEVENTEENTH  CENTURY 
ITALIAN  SCULPTORS 

Alessandro  Algardi  (1620-54).  Crucifix  at  Munich  attributed  to  him. 

Francesco  Francelli  (end  of  seventeenth  century)  worked  for  some 
time  in  England  ; probably  many  of  our  portrait  medallions  are  by  him. 

Antonio  Leoni.  Some  pieces  in  Bav.  Nat.  Mus.  signed  “Antonius 
Leoni  Venetus  F.” 

Filippo  Planzone  (+1636).  Tours  de  force.  Horse  in  a cage  in 
Florence  Nat.  Mus. 

Pietro  Andrea  Torre  (+ 1668).  Genoa.  Crucifixes. 

Giovanni  Pozzo  (1700).  Portrait  medallions. 

Donatello  Fiorentino.  Jacquemart  mentions  “une  gracieuse  figure 
de  femme  nue.” 

FLEMISH  SCULPTORS 

Mathieu  van  Beveren  (1670).  Antwerp.  Crucifixes. 

Francis  van  Bossuit  (1635-92). 

J.  or  H.  Cosyns  ( + 1700).  Worked  in  London.  Bacchanalian  children. 

Fran9ois  Duquesnoy  (II  Fiammingo).  1594-1644. 

X 


305 


IVORIES 

Jerome  Duquesnoy.  Crucifixes. 

Lucas  Fayd’herbe  (1617-97).  Pupil  of  Rubens. 

J.  Mansel.  Bacchanalian  plaques.  Munich  Museum. 

Gerhard  van  Opstal  (1595-1668).  Settled  in  Paris. 

Arthur  Quellinus  (1609-68).  Sculptor  of  groups  at  Rathaus, 
Amsterdam.  Pupil  of  Duquesnoy.  Graesse  monogram,  “A.Q.F.” 

P.  Scheemackers.  Bacchanalian  children.  Bav.  Nat.  Mus.  Poor  work. 

Rombout  Verhulst  (1624-96).  Groups  and  medallions. 

Albert  Vinckenbrinck  (1604-64).  Probably  worked  with  Verhulst. 

J.  B.  Xavery.  A faun  exhibited  at  Amsterdam  Exhibition,  1883. 

“Jacobus  Agnesius  Caluensis  sculp  1638.”  There  is  a good  group 
of  the  martyrdom  of  St.  Bartholomew,  with  this  signature,  in  the  Albi 
Museum.  Nationality  uncertain.  Attributed  to  Jacques  L’Agneau,  of 
Douai. 

GERMAN  SCULPTORS 

Christoph  Angermair  (1616).  Coin  cabinet.  Munich.  Graesse 
gives  “ ^ ” as  his  monogram.  Plaque  dated  1616  in  B.M. 

G.  Angerman  (1672).  Skeletons. 

Melchior  Bartel  (1625-72).  Dresden.  Lived  and  worked  in  Italy. 
Crucifix  in  Florence  Nat.  Mus. 

Bernhard  Bendel  (1668-1736).  Augsburg.  Crucifix.  Classical 
reliefs. 

Christian  Braun.  Ulm.  “ Ecce  Homo  ” in  Louvre. 

Jacob  Dobbermann  (1682-1745).  Cassel.  Classical  reliefs.  Portrait 
medallions.  Worked  a good  deal  in  amber. 

J.  Hennen.  Berlin.  Medallion  portraits. 

Georg  Burrer  (1616).  Stuttgardt.  Turnery  cups. 

Michael  Daebler  (1635-1702). 

Ignaz  Elhafen  (1650-1700).  Bacchus  and  Venus  in  Bav.  Nat.  Mus. 
Plaques. 

Andreas  Faistenberger  (1646-74).  Tyrol.  Crucifix. 

Raymond  Faltz.  Medallions.  Berlin  Kunstkammer. 

Hammeran.  Portrait  medallion  of  Leopold  I.,  Emperor  of  Germany, 
thus  signed,  in  B.M.  signed  “ Hammeran  fecit  1679.” 

Christoph  Harrich  (1630).  Skeletons  and  skulls. 

Joachim  Hennen  (1663).  Medallion  portraits. 

Benedict  Herz  (1635).  Nuremberg.  Crucifixes. 

Marcus  Heiden  (1644).  Coburg.  Turnery  cups. 

David  Heschler  (1635).  Ulm.  Wood  and  ivory. 

Wilhelm  Kruger.  Wood  and  ivory  beggar  figures. 

Leonhard  Kern  (1588-1663). 

J.  Michael  Maucher  (1646-1700).  Gmiind.  Large  ewers  and  rose- 
water dishes. 

Max  Emanuel,  Elector  of  Bavaria  (1651).  Chandelier  and  two 
candelabra.  Casts  in  S.K.M. 

Balthasar  Permoser  (1650-1732).  Salzburg.  Crucifix.  A rococo 
crucifixion  group  in  ivory,  wood,  and  metal  in  Town  Hall,  Leipzig. 
Worked  in  wax,  wood,  and  metal. 

306 


POST-RENAISSANCE  SCULPTURE 

Jean  Conrad  Tornier  (1630).  Inlaying.  Wallace  collection. 

Georg  Petel  (1634).  Augsburg.  Was  some  time  in  Italy  and 
Flanders.  Crucifix  in  Vienna  Mus. 

Leopold  Pronner.  Nuremberg.  W\croscop\c  totirs  de  force. 
Mathias  Rauchmiller  (1693). 

Schuler,  a fine  “Adam  and  Eve”  by,  in  Manchester  Exhibition,  1857. 
Philip  Senger  (1681).  Turner  to  Cosmo  1 1 1.,  Grand  Duke  of  Tuscany. 
Andreas  Schluter.  Berlin.  Figures, 

Steinhards,  Franz  and  Dominicus.  Plaques  for  cabinets. 

Steudner,  Esaias  and  Marc  (1691-1760).  Medallions. 

Balthasar  Stockamer  (1700).  Nuremberg. 

J.  Martin  Teuber.  Turnery. 

Bernhard  Strauss.  Augsburg  (late  seventeenth  century).  Tankards. 
Zick  family  (1594-1696).  Nuremberg.  Turnery  and  trick  pieces. 
Melchior  Paulus.  A group  of  a monk  and  two  soldiers,  signed 
M.  P.  fecit,  in  B.M.  And  see  Graesse. 

Pd  or  1-|,  Probably  Peter  Hencke.  Ultra  baroque  style.  Cruci- 
fixes etc. 

HS.  Several  in  Brunswick  Museum.  Medallions.  Plaques.  Name 
unknown. 

Theophilus  W.  Freese.  Bremen. 

FRENCH  SCULPTORS 

Michel  and  Francois  Anguier  (1614-86).  Dieppe.  Crucifixes.  A 
group  of  Holy  Family  by  Michel. 

Frangois  Girardon.  A crucifix  is  attributed  to  him. 

Jean  Baptiste  Guillermin  (1623-79).  Crucifix  at  Avignon.  Two 
vases  signed  by  him  in  Vienna  Mus. 

Nicollas  Chevallier  (sixteenth  century).  On  a staghorn  powder- 
flask  in  Louvre. 

Simon  and  Hubert  Jaillot  (1657-81).  St.  Claude,  Jura.  Crucifixes 
only.  One  in  hospital  of  St.  Germain-des-pres,  by  Simon. 

Jean  Cavalier  (1680-1707).  Portrait  medallions. 

David  le  Marchand  (+  1726),  Medallions,  Signs  in  full  or  DLMF. 
S.  Gouin.  Two  medallion  portraits  in  B.M.  Is  not  known  to 
Nagler. 

Jean  Mauger  (1634-1715).  Portrait  medallion  in  B.M. 

P.  Lacroix.  A good  bust,  in  periwig,  in  Fau  collection. 

Jean  Millet  (1664). 

G.  VDR.  Medallion  portrait  so  signed  in  B.M. 

Adrien  Philippe  (1608).  Wristguard.  Wallace  collection. 

EIGHTEENTH  AND  NINETEENTH  CENTURIES 

E.  Bouchardon  (1698-1762).  A crucifix  in  church  of  St,  Sulpice, 
Paris. 

Guiseppe  Bonzanigo  (1740-1820).  Bust  of  Marie  Louise  in  Louvre. 
Joseph  Villerme  (1720),  St.  Claude,  Jura.  Crucifixes. 

Simon  Troger  (+  1769).  Bavaria,  Wood  and  ivory  figures. 

307 


IVORIES 

Frangois  and  Joseph  Rosset  (1706-86).  St.  Claude,  Jura.  Busts 
and  statuettes  of  saints;  also  of  Rousseau,  Voltaire  (the  latter  mentions 
Francois) ; a St.  Theresa  in  Louvre  by  Kosset,  pere. 

G.  Gerber.  Portrait  medallions. 

Johann  Christoph  Koller.  Combination  of  wood  and  ivory. 
Magnus  Berg  (1666-1739).  Norwegian. 

Belleteste.  Copies  of  the  Four  Seasons  at  Versailles. 

Crucvolle  family.  Crucifixes. 

Cointre.  Beggar  figures. 

Georg  Franz  Ebenhech.  Plaques  and  medallions. 

Jean  Voyez  (1768).  Designed  for  Wedgwood. 

Pieter  Geflns  (+1776).  Maesyck,  Belgium.  A medallion  with 
Judith  and  Holofernes.  Brussels  Exhibition,  1880. 

Walther  Pompe(+  1777).  Netherlands.  Crucifixes  and  bas  reliefs. 
J.  Christoph  Ludwig  von  Liicke  (1750).  Veiled  busts,  Brunswick 
Mus.  Crucifix,  Dresden  Green  Vaults.  Sleeping  shepherdess,  Munich. 
Distinguished  as  a porcelain  modeller.  Much  work  of  all  kinds  in  ivory 
and  other  materials  in  various  German  museums  and  collections. 
Worked  in  England. 

Baron  Triqueti.  A large  figure  of  Bacchus  in  the  British  Museum. 
Scailliet.  Plenneguy,  Delacour,  Degoney,  Vaillant,  Aloise,  Cresson, 
Dechaulme,  Ferrary,  Hengrave,  Vever,  Soitoux. 

No^e. — Of  the  nineteenth  century  others  are  mentioned  in  the  text. 


308 


CHAPTER  XIII 


CHESSMEN  AND  DRAUGHTSMEN 

IT  can  hardly  be  questioned  that  ivory  has  been  for 
a very  long  time,  and  is  still,  the  favourite  material 
for  a handsome  set  of  chessmen.  We  find  them, 
not  infrequently,  it  is  true,  in  box  wood,  and  at  times 
almost  every  kind  of  material,  in  every  description  of 
form  and  decoration,  has  been  pressed  into  the  service  ; 
but  for  centuries  past,  dating  back,  in  all  probability,  to 
the  time  when  the  origin  of  the  game  becomes  lost  in 
obscurity,  we  have  numerous  evidences,  both  in  the 
pieces  themselves  and  in  records  and  writings  of  all 
kinds,  of  the  greater  popularity  and  universal  use  of 
ivory  or  bone. 

It  has,  perhaps,  not  often  occurred  to  most  people, 
who  are  accustomed  to  chessmen  as  we  now  have  them, 
to  give  a thought  to  the  question  of  their  origin,  and  to 
the  history  of  the  changes  through  which  they  have 
passed  in  the  evolution  from  primitive  and  succeeding 
types  to  their  present  extremely  conventional  forms. 
The  first  time  one  comes  across  the  strange-looking, 
ancient  chessmen,  to  be  met  with  in  many  museums, 
not  only  is  it  puzzling  to  know  what  pieces  they  may 
represent,  but  one  hears  with  surprise  that  they  are 
chessmen  at  all.  So  little,  in  fact,  do  many  of  the  more 
highly  decorated  figures  and  groups  resemble  what  we 
are  accustomed  to  in  the  modern  simple  style,  that 
they  have  not  seldom  been  mistaken  for  portions 

309 


IVORIES 

of  dagger  or  sword  hilts.  The  present  forms  are,  of 
course,  an  evolution  from  primitive  types  which  in  the 
course  of  the  ages  during  which  the  game  has  been 
known  have  undergone,  as  it  were,  a see-saw  from 
simple  to  elaborate  and  back  again,  from  the  earliest 
kind,  no  doubt  perfectly  plain,  to  representations  of 
men  and  animals,  and  more  or  less  complicated  groups; 
then  again  confined  to  simple  figures,  and,  finally,  re- 
duced as  we  see  them  now.  For  instance,  of  the  knight 
on  horseback  nothing  remains  but  the  head  of  his  horse 
— a kind  of  hippocampus ; of  the  bishop  his  mitre;  the 
king’s  and  queen’s  royal  robes,  and  the  armour  of  the 
warders  represented  by  a succession  of  horizontal  rolls, 
or  a rounded  top  for  the  pawns.  How  far  this  may  be 
due  to  China,  whence  come  so  many  of  our  modern 
ivory  sets,  may  possibly  be  another  question. 

The  origin  of  the  game  itself,  its  phases  in  various 
countries,  and  the  pieces  employed,  necessitate  at  least 
some  brief  references.  The  eastern  origin  is  not  dis- 
puted ; but  although  we  cannot  determine  exactly  when 
it  was  introduced  into  Europe,  it  came  probably  through 
Byzantium,  whither  it  may  have  gone  from  farther  east, 
and  originally  from  Egypt.  For  ourselves  it  is  to  the 
northern  countries,  to  Scandinavia  especially,  that  we 
must  turn  in  order  to  follow  out  the  origin  of  the  various 
pieces  which,  at  any  rate  at  a certain  period,  seem  to 
have  been  furnished  to  a considerable  portion  of  western 
Europe.  Some  think  the  game  was  brought  to  England 
by  King  Canute — but  this  by  the  way. 

It  would  not  be  difficult  to  multiply  references  and 
allusions  from  old  chronicles.  A few  will  suffice.  The 
author  of  Caxton’s  famous  book.  The  Playe  of  the  Chesse, 
supposed  to  be  a certain  French  Dominican,  Jacobus  de 
Casulis,  about  1290  a.d.,  discusses  the  question  of  the 
origin  of  the  game.  He  says,  “This  playe  fonde  a 
phylosopher  of  thoryent  whych  was  named  in  caldee 
Exerces,”  and  that  “ somme  men  wene  that  this  playe 
310 


CHESSMEN  AND  DRAUGHTSMEN 

was  founden  in  the  tyme  of  the  battayles  and  siege  of 
Troye.  But  that  is  not  so.”  And  Chaucer,  who  has 
something  to  say  about  most  things  which  occupied  or 
amused  people  of  his  time,  tells  us  in  his  “ Dreame,” 
or  “ Book  of  the  Duchess,”  that — 

“ Full  craftier  to  play  she  was 
Than  Athalus  that  made  the  game 
First  to  the  chesse,  so  was  his  name.” 

And  again — 

“ They  dancen  and  they  play  at  ches  and  tables.” 

And  in  the  Merchant’s  tale  we  are  told  that — 

“ When  they  had  ydyned,  the  cloth  was  up  ytake 
A ches  there  was  ybrought  forth ; 

The  ches  was  all  of  ivory,  the  meyne  fresh  and  new 
Ipulshid  and  ypikid,  of  white,  azure  and  blew.” 


That  chess  and  backgammon  were  favourite  games 
with  the  Anglo-Saxons  we  find  in  the  metrical  romance 
of  Ypomydon,  in  the  description  of  the  festivities  at- 
tending his  marriage  with  the  princess  of  Calabria, 
that — 

“ When  they  had  dyned  as  I you  saye 
Lordes  and  ladyes  yede  to  playe 
Some  to  tables  and  some  to  chesse 
With  other  games  more  or  lesse.” 

Not  always,  though,  in  the  best  of  tempers.  In  the 
romance  of  Ogier  le  Danois  we  have  a long  account  of 
a game  between  Chariot  and  Baudouin  which  ends  in 
high  words,  and  in  the  former  seizing  the  chessboard 
and  dashing  out  the  brains  of  the  latter ; and  a similar 
fatal  quarrel  occurs  in  the  story  of  Guy  of  Warwick, 
where  he  slays  the  prince  of  Persia  with  a chessboard. 
In  a Harleian  MS.  there  is  an  amusing  account  taken 
from  a fourteenth-century  French  book — The  Knight 
of  La  Tour  Landry,  or,  as  Caxton’s  translation  gives 
it,  “The  Booke  whiche  the  Knight  of  the  Tour  made 


IVORIES 

to  the  Enseygnement  and  Teching  of  his  doughters  ” — 
about  a “gentille  knights  daughter  that  wratthed  atte 
the  tables  with  a gentill  man  that  was  riotous  and 
comberous  and  hadd  an  evelle  hede,  and  the  debate 
was  on  a point  that  he  plaide,  that  she  saide  that  it  was 
wronge : and  so  the  wordes  and  the  debate  rose  so  that 
she  saide  that  he  was  a lewde  foie,  and  thane  lost  the 
game  in  chiding.”  We  shall  see  presently  that  in  the 
middle  ages  the  queen  in  chess  was  called  ferce,  or 
vierge ; and  in  a treatise  on  the  game,  the  Moralitas 
de  Scaccario  of  Pope  Innocent,  we  are  told  that  “the 
queen  moves  obliquely  and  takes  on  any  side : the 
reason  being  that  women  being  very  avaricious  they 
take  nothing,  unless  it  be  given  to  them  with  a good 
grace,  but  what  they  can  get  by  rapine  and  injustice.” 

To  turn  to  references  of  ivory  chessmen  and  boards 
in  wills  and  inventories.  Sir  William  Compton  be- 
queathed to  Henry  VIII.  “a  little  chest  of  ivory,  with 
a chessboard  under  the  same,  and  a pair  of  tables  on  it.” 
The  wardrobe  accounts  of  Edward  I.  mention  '' tma 
fauiilia  de  ebore  pro  ludendo  ad  scaccarhtm”  and  in 
the  inventory  of  the  effects  of  Roger  de  Mortimer, 
in  the  time  of  Edward  II.,  which  is  given  at  length  in 
the  Archceological  Journal,  vol.  xv.,  we  have,  besides  a 
comb,  a mirror,  a small  image  of  the  Blessed  Virgin, 
and  a “scurgiam”  (a  whip,  or,  less  likely,  an  aspergillum 
or  holy-water  sprinkler),  all  in  ivory,  “j  famil’  de  ebore 
pro  scaccario,”  that  is,  a set  of  ivory  chessmen,  and  also 
a board  of  some  eastern  wood  for  the  game  of  tables,  or 
draughts. 

The  game  of  chess  was  certainly  of  ancient  standing 
in  Iceland  and  throughout  the  north  of  Europe.  In 
Denmark  the  old  names  of  the  pieces  persisted  to  a 
comparatively  recent  date,  as  we  learn  from  an  account 
of  the  travels  of  Olassen  in  1752—7  : thus,  the  men  are 
menu  and  skakumi,  the  queen  f7ni,  the  bishop  biskup, 
the  king  konungr,  the  knight  rlddar,  checkmate  skaka- 
312 


CHESSMEN  AND  DRAUGHTSMEN 

mata.  We  learn  also  from  old  chronicles  that  in  the 
reign  of  King  Alfred,  about  890  a.d.,  a Norwegian 
named  Ohtere  was  hunting  the  walrus  for  its  ivory  in  the 
north  seas.  He  visited  England,  and  gave  an  account 
of  his  expedition  to  the  king.  It  is  related  further,  in 
a curious  old  saga  of  the  tenth  century,  that  the  prefect 
of  Greenland  sent  to  Harold  Hardrada,  amongst  other 
precious  gifts,  a set  of  chessmen  finely  carved.  And 
throughout  the  chronicles  we  find  that  the  ancient  Nor- 
wegians and  other  northern  nations  and  tribes  were 
highly  skilled  in  carving  figures  and  ornaments  in  bone 
and  ivory. 

Bone  or  ivory  of  some  kind  was  certainly  extensively 
used  by  the  Anglo-Saxons  for  ornaments  and  the  deco- 
ration of  dwellings.  An  old  chronicle  speaks  of  the 
house  which  Locrine  built  for  his  mistress  Estrild — 
“ the  walls  of  stone,  the  doors  of  whalles-bone.”  For 
whalles-bone,  or  ypen-ban  {elfenbeiii),  was  the  name  for 
ivory,  probably  morse  or  walrus.  We  have  it  compared 
with  a lady’s  teeth  : “Hire  teht  aren  white  ase  bon  of 
whal.”  The  tusk  of  the  walrus,  or  seahorse,  of  the 
northern  seas  is  distinguished  by  its  fine  grain  and  by 
the  true  ivory  skin  being  not  so  deep  as  in  the  elephant’s 
tusk,  sooner  worn  through  and  succeeded  by  a more 
bony  substance.  Good  specimens  are  from  one  to  three 
feet  in  length  and  six  to  nine  inches  in  circumference. 

It  is  time  to  turn  to  the  examples  which  our  museums 
afford  of  various  kinds  of  chessmen.  The  most  interesting 
of  all,  from  many  points  of  view,  is  the  set,  or  parts  of 
sets,  in  the  British  Museum,  known  as  the  Lewis  chess- 
men. These  pieces  may  be  taken  as  characteristic  of 
the  style  adopted  throughout  northern  Europe  for 
some  centuries.  They  have  the  additional  interest  of 
affording  us  correct  information  upon  the  costume  and 
armour  of  the  period,  together  with  valuable  material 
for  comparison  in  respect  to  the  decorative  ornament 
which  has  already  been  noticed  on  other  examples  of 

313 


IVORIES 


ivory  sculpture.  The  island  of  Lewis,  where  they  were 
found,  is  one  of  the  group  of  the  outer  Hebrides  in  the 
North  Atlantic  Ocean.  The  story  of  their  discovery  is 
that  in  the  spring  of  1831  a labourer  digging  a sand- 
bank in  the  parish  of  Uig  laid  bare  a large  oven-like 
kind  of  building.  A little  later  on,  breaking  into  it  and 
further  exploring,  he  found  these  hgures  ranged  upon 
the  floor,  and  horrified  and  frightened  at  what  he  thought 
were  elves  or  some  other  uncanny  creatures,  he  threw 
down  his  tools  and  fled.  He  afterwards  returned  and 
collected  some  ninety-two  pieces,  which  were  nearly  all 
acquired  for  the  British  Museum.  About  eleven,  how- 
ever, were  bought  later  on  by  the  Society  of  Antiquaries 
of  Scotland  and  are  now  in  its  museum.  They  do  not 
appear  to  form  complete  sets,  but  to  be  portions  of  several 
and  of  different  sizes,  of  excellent  workmanship,  the 
smaller  pieces  having  the  more  elaborate  decoration.  It 
has  been  conjectured  that  they  possibly  belonged  to  a 
convent  of  which  some  ruins  exist  near  the  spot  where 
they  were  found.  A very  long  and  interesting  account, 
with  illustrations  of  all  the  pieces,  together  with  a learned 
dissertation  on  the  game  of  chess,  is  given  by  Sir  Frederick 
Madden  in  volume  xxiv.  of  Archaeologia,  to  which  the 
reader  must  be  referred  for  the  fullest  particulars.  A 
few  may  be  here  described,  and  in  so  doing  it  will  be  as 
well  to  refer  briefly  to  the  various  other  forms  of  each 
piece  in  the  game  of  which  examples  in  ivory  are  known. 

Of  the  varieties  of  chess  pieces,  the  kings  are  those, 
perhaps,  which  differ  most.  In  the  Lewis  set  they  are 
represented  as  elderly  men,  sometimes  with,  sometimes 
without,  a large  spade-shaped  beard  and  moustaches, 
the  hair  divided  in  plaits  or  ringlets  falling  over  the 
shoulders.  They  wear  low  trefoil  crowns,  and  sit  on 
high-backed,  square  chairs,  the  backs  of  which  are  carved 
with  beautiful  patterns  of  scrolls  and  interlacements. 
Their  robes  are  a kind  of  dalmatic,  and  each  holds  on 
his  lap  a sword  in  its  scabbard.  In  the  Drey  collection, 
314 


CHESSMEN  AND  DRAUGHTSMEN 

at  Munich,  the  king  is  on  horseback,  accompanied  by 
seven  crossbowmen  and  other  figures.  An  Anglo- 
Saxon  king-piece,  found  at  Beckley,  in  Oxfordshire,  is 
circular,  with  a rounded  top,  and  an  angular  piece  jutting 
out  on  one  side — a projection  characteristic  of  many 
king-pieces.  It  is  simply  ornamented  with  incised 
circles  and  lines.  The  king  in  the  set  in  the  Paris 
National  Library,  traditionally  known  as  the  chessmen 
of  Charlemagne,  is  one  of  a number  of  very  large  pieces, 
evidently  of  eastern  origin.  He  is  represented  riding 
on  an  elephant  surrounded  by  numerous  attendants  and 
other  figures.  In  another  set  at  Paris,  in  the  Cabinet 
de  M6dailles,  the  king-piece  is  of  bone;  he  stands  erect, 
holding  his  sceptre,  beneath  a flat  battlemented  pediment, 
with  curtains  on  each  side  held  back  by  attendants. 

These  are  some  varieties,  but  there  are  many  more  in 
museums  and  collection.s — notable  ones  in  the  museums 
at  Berlin,  Paris,  Copenhagen,  and  Dublin.  It  would 
be  impossible,  without  unduly  exceeding  our  limits,  to 
describe  the  almost  endless  variations,  and  useless  with- 
out a large  number  of  illustrations.  The  same  remarks 
must  apply  to  the  other  pieces  of  the  game.  Almost 
every  known  piece  is  especially  interesting  from  one 
point  of  view  or  another,  and  from  the  figures  and 
groups  relating  to  religious  subjects,  arms  and  armour, 
costume,  and  other  details  and  incidents. 

The  queen,  called  in  mediaeval  times  fierge,  firge, 
and,  by  corruption,  merge  (Madden  derives  the  term 
from  the  Persian  pherz,  a councillor),  is  scarcely  less 
remarkable  for  variety  of  type.  Sometimes  it  is  a 
general  commanding  an  army.  But  the  form  of  which 
we  have  the  most  examples  resembles  generally  that 
of  the  Lewis  chessmen.  Here  the  queen  is  seated  in  a 
like  chair  to  the  king’s  ; she  wears  a veil  falling  over 
her  shoulders,  and  over  this  a low  crown  ; in  one  piece 
she  rests  her  head  on  her  right  hand,  and  in  the  left 
holds  a horn  which  may  be  meant  for  a drinking-horn, 

315 


IVORIES 

but  is  more  probably  a money-box  such  as  was  then 
used.  We  have  examples  of  such  money-boxes  in  bone 
and  ivory. 

The  knight  is  sometimes  a large  figure  on  horseback, 
surrounded  by  others,  smaller,  to  show  their  inferior 
rank.  The  piece  is  found  in  the  shape  of  other  com- 
plicated groups,  and  carved  with  subjects  of  infinite 
variety.  In  the  Lewis  set  some  of  the  knights  are 
represented  by  a standing  figure  in  armour,  wearing  a 
conical  helmet  with  a nasal,  and  a surcoat  reaching  to 
the  heels.  He  grasps  a tall,  kite-shaped  shield,  nearly 
as  high  as  himself.  Other  knights  are  on  sturdy  little 
caparisoned  horses  with  curiously  embroidered  saddle- 
cloths. 

The  bishop  seems  to  have  replaced  the  fool  or  jester 
of  earlier  times,  and,  again,  the  elephant,  from  the  early 
Persian  word  pil  or  phil,  whence  al  phil  and  other 
derived  terms  to  be  met  with  in  chronicles.  Of  the 
Lewis  bishops,  some  are  seated,  some  stand  ; some  are 
vested  in  chasuble,  dalmatic,  and  tunicle,  with  the  ends 
of  their  stoles  showing.  Others  wear  a cope  over  the 
dalmatic.  They  wear  also  mitres  of  the  low  gothic 
form,  so  different  from  the  hideous  and  ridiculous  tall 
Roman  or  French  kind  which  was  evolved  later  on. 
The  infulce  are  shown,  and  every  detail  of  the  episcopal 
vestments  is  remarkably  exact. 

The  rook  or  castle  appears  to  have  come  from  the 
Persian  rokh,  a free-lance  or  adventurer,  but  how  trans- 
formed into  a crenellated  tower  one  can  only  conjecture. 
No  doubt  the  warder  is  a more  appropriate  term,  his 
moves  a kind  of  sentry-go,  keeping  watch  and  ward  in 
a steady  sort  of  fashion,  and  later  on  represented  by  the 
battlements  themselves.  The  Lewis  warders  are  the 
same  kind  of  figures  as  the  unmounted  knights,  but  in 
this  case  they  hide  almost  entirely  behind  their  shields, 
holding  the  top  edges  in  their  mouths,  a row  of  huge 
teeth  appearing,  as  if  biting  it. 

316 


CHESSMEN  AND  DRAUGHTSMEN 

Finally,  the  pawns  are  of  various  shapes  and  sizes — 
usually  a kind  of  cone  with  chamfered  sides.  Many 
of  the  pawns  in  the  Lewis  set  are  ornamented  on  the 
broader  face  with  beautiful  designs  of  conventional 
floriations  of  a distinctly  different  character  to  the  inter- 
laced work  on  the  figure-pieces. 

A few  curious  pieces,  amongst  many  others,  may  be 
briefly  mentioned.  The  first  was  found  in  1839  in  the 
ruins  of  Kirkstall  Abbey.  It  is  of  walrus  ivory,  covered 
with  an  elaborate  decoration  of  fabulous  birds  and  beasts 
and  human  figures  of  the  kind  already  often  referred  to 
in  twelfth-century  work.  From  the  projecting  piece  or 
peak  it  may  be  taken  to  be  a king.  The  Society  of 
Antiquaries  of  Scotland  has  a knight  and  a warder, 
crouching  figures  in  armour  amidst  deeply  cut  inter- 
lacements, later  than  the  Lewis  examples,  probably  of 
the  thirteenth  century.  The  Ashmolean  Museum  has 
also  a thirteenth-century  piece  for  a knight,  representing 
two  knights  on  horseback  and  in  armour,  of  the  time 
of  Henry  III.  or  late  King  John,  as  they  wear  the 
curious  cylindrical  flat-topped  helmet.  And  it  is  im- 
possible to  avoid  mention,  at  least,  of  what  is  probably 
the  most  ancient — and  it  is  also  complete — set  of  chess- 
men in  existence.  These  were  found  about  fifty  years 
ago  among  the  ruins  of  Brahminadab,  in  Scinde,  a city 
which  was  destroyed  by  an  earthquake  in  the  eighth 
century.  The  pieces  are  turned  and  quite  plain,  without 
any  ornament.  With  them  were  also  fragments  of  a 
chessboard  in  ivory  and  ebony,  but  all  in  an  extremely 
fragile  condition.  They  are  now  in  the  India  Museum. 

Although  the  chessmen  of  the  Lewis  type  may  have 
been,  and  probably  were,  made  in  other  countries,  the 
fashion  does  not  appear  to  have  come  very  far  south, 
and  it  is  to  Denmark  and  Scandinavia  generally  that 
we  must  look  for  their  origin.  Other  examples— for 
instance,  in  the  museums  of  Naples  and  Berlin-— are 
known,  besides  those  of  the  great  find  at  Uig,  unless, 

317 


IVORIES 


indeed,  the  former  were  abstracted  and  sold  separately. 
A bishop,  formerly  in  the  Maskell  collection,  is  now  in 
the  British  Museum.  In  endeavouring  to  assign  an 
exact  origin  and  date  to  these  pieces,  we  are  guided 
principally  by  the  material,  the  style  of  ornament,  the 
costume,  the  physiognomies,  such  details  as  the  fashion 
of  the  hair,  and  especially  by  the  armour.  This,  with 
the  pointed  helmet  and  kite-shaped  shield,  is  distinctly 
Norman.  At  the  same  time  a like  fashion  may  have 
prevailed  in  Denmark  and  Scandinavia.  The  physiog- 
nomies of  the  figures  are  decidedly  marked,  and  even 
the  diminutive  ponies  on  which  the  knights  are  mounted 
may  be  not  without  value  in  the  argument.  Very  inter- 
esting are  the  figures  of  the  bishops  and  the  accuracy  of 
detail  in  their  vestments,  their  crosiers  with  a plain, 
simple  volute  and  a certain  amount  of  variety  in  the 
form  of  their  more  or  less  pointed  mitres.  We  may 
even  base  upon  the  exactitude  of  these  details  some 
surmise  that  the  figures  are  the  work  of  monks,  or 
at  least  come  from  a religious  house,  perhaps  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  the  place  of  their  discovery.  It  must 
be  remembered  also  that  the  mitre  as  an  ecclesiastical 
headdress  is  not  of  great  antiquity.  Menard,  the  learned 
Benedictine  editor  of  the  Sacramentary  of  St.  Gregory, 
says  that  they  were  not  in  general  use  for  the  first 
thousand  years  of  our  era.  No  ritual  mentions  them 
before  the  year  looo  a.d.,  although  the  most  elaborate 
ceremonial  is  laid  down  in  the  order  for  the  consecration 
of  bishops.  We  may  conclude  that  these  interesting 
figures  are  the  work  either  of  the  northern  hordes  who 
overran  Scotland  and  the  greater  part  of  Europe  in  the 
twelfth  century,  of  the  inhabitants  of  a monastery  or 
settlement  in  the  vicinity  of  Uig,  or  that  they  may  have 
formed  part  of  the  stock  of  an  Icelandic  merchant  who 
carried  them  as  traffic  to  the  Hebrides  or  Ireland  ; or, 
again,  that  they  may  be  from  a wreck  of  some  merchant 
ship.  But  it  is  certain  that  walrus  ivory  was  worked  in 
318 


PL  A TE  LXJX 


CHtiSS  AND  DRAUGHIS  iMKN 
eleventh  and  twelfth  centuries 


CHESSMEN  AND  DRAUGHTSMEN 

various  parts  throughout  the  isles,  especially  for  daggers 
and  sword-hilts,  and  the  like.  We  may  remember,  how- 
ever, that  the  Lewis  group  of  islands  was  chiefly  peopled 
by  Scandinavians.  They  had  princes  of  their  own  until 
the  island  of  Lewis  was  ravaged  by  King  Magnus 
Barefoot,  who  added  it  to  his  own  dominions. 

As  ivories,  it  is  for  the  character  of  the  decoration 
that  we  chiefly  value  them.  It  is  useful  to  compare  the 
beautiful  ornament  of  the  interlaced  work  on  the  backs 
of  the  chairs,  the  foliated  arabesques  and  the  animals 
with  foliated  tails,  with  that  on  the  Brunswick  and  other 
caskets  of  northern  origin  which  have  already  been 
described. 

Early  draughtsmen  in  ivory  and  bone  of  the  eleventh 
and  twelfth  centuries  are  not  uncommon.  They  are 
generally  thick  slabs  or  sections  of  walrus  tusks,  of 
northern  or  Byzantine  origin,  the  subjects  carved  in 
almost  full  relief  beneath  the  level  top  of  the  piece,  so 
as  not  to  interfere  with  their  being  placed  one  on  another 
for  the  purposes  of  the  game.  One  of  this  kind  was 
found  recently  in  a quarry  at  Glastonbury ; another  at 
Salisbury.  Anglo-Saxon  draughtsmen  are  often  simply 
ornamented  with  lines  in  concentric  circles  and  half 
circles,  the  latter  forming  festoons  round  the  edge.  The 
same  system  of  incised  lines  and  circles  is  found  on  two 
Anglo-Saxon  chessmen  found  near  Warrington  in  1852. 
They  are  plain  pieces,  one  a cylinder,  the  other  a kind 
of  section  of  a cone,  and  are  of  jet  for  the  black  men, 
the  corresponding  white  ones  having  doubtless  been  of 
walrus  ivory.  Scriptural  subjects  are  common  on  Byzan- 
tine examples,  of  which  there  are  several  in  the  British 
Museum.  Besides  these  and  others,  there  is  in  the  same 
museum  a very  interesting  set  of  ivory,  of  large  size, 
each  piece  carved  with  an  animal — a stag,  an  elephant, 
a horse,  a sow  with  young,  a camel,  a goat,  and  so  on. 
In  the  Kensington  Museum  the  subject  on  one  piece  is 
a man  and  woman  playing  the  game  ; four  other  people 

319 


IVORIES 

stand  behind  looking  on.  And  another  curious  piece — 
or  rather  fragment  of  a piece — has  in  the  centre,  in  high 
relief,  a kind  of  wingless  dragon  biting  the  end  of  a rod 
or  spear.  The  Ashmolean  has  two  pieces,  on  both  of 
which  are  representations  of  St.  Martin  dividing  his 
cloak  to  clothe  a beggar.  All  the  above  are  of  the 
eleventh  to  the  thirteenth  century.  As  might  be  ex- 
pected, the  subjects  are  very  varied,  and  most  museums 
possess  examples  of  the  work  of  different  countries;  but 
in  ivory  they  are  usually  confined  to  the  centuries  just 
mentioned. 

In  connection  with  these  draughtsmen,  it  is  worth 
while  to  call  attention  to  the  decoration  of  some  of  the 
pillars  of  the  old  Norman  church  of  Shobdon,  in  Here- 
fordshire. These  are  ornamented  with  medallions  which 
resemble  precisely  many  of  the  Byzantine  draughtsmen. 
The  similarity  between  the  style  of  decoration  on  the 
back  of  the  crucifix  of  Leon  and  that  of  the  arms  of 
a chair  from  the  Meyrick  collection,  now  in  the  Ken- 
sington Museum,  has  previously  been  noticed.  With 
these  it  is  instructive  to  compare  both  the  draughtsmen 
and  the  pillars.  The  vandalism  of  some  restorers  of 
1752  pulled  down  the  ancient  church,  but  the  pillars 
were  rescued  and  erected  in  Lord  Bateman’s  park  close 
by.  An  account  and  illustration  of  them  will  be  found 
in  the  first  volume  of  the  Journal  of  the  Archceological 
Institute. 


320 


CHAPTER  XIV 


IVORY  SCULPTURE  IN  SPAIN,  PORTUGAL, 
AND  WEST  AFRICA 

HERE  appears  to  have  been  a less  general  use 


of  ivory  for  sculpture  in  Spain  and  Portugal 


^ than  in  most  other  countries.  Nevertheless,  if 
we  take  into  consideration,  with  regard  to  Spain,  what 
is  known  as  Hispano-Moresque  art,  resulting  from  the 
invasions  of  the  Peninsula  by  the  Arabs  in  the  eighth 
century,  and  their  influence  which  endured  until  they 
were  finally  expelled  at  the  end  of  the  fifteenth,  and, 
with  regard  to  Portugal,  her  colonies,  her  settlements 
in  India  and  China,  and  her  connection  with  a certain 
part  of  West  Africa,  we  shall  find  some  interesting 
subjects  to  occupy  our  attention. 

So  far  as  the  arts  are  concerned,  the  situation  created 
in  Spain  by  the  contact  of  the  two  races  was,  of  course, 
somewhat  complex.  The  question,  however,  affects 
ivory  sculpture  less,  perhaps,  than  some  other  descrip- 
tions of  art,  and  it  will  be  hardly  necessary,  therefore, 
to  do  more  than  call  attention  to  it  in  the  briefest  manner. 
Moreover,  the  examples  which  will  be  selected  will  be 
for  the  most  part  almost  purely  oriental  as  regards  their 
decoration.  The  result  of  the  fusion  of  the  two  influences 
was  naturally  to  create  a hybrid  type,  sometimes  purely 
national  on  the  one  side  or  the  other,  sometimes  with 
mixed  characteristics.  Again,  in  the  times  when  Byzan- 
tine art  reigned  supreme  in  the  west,  it  is  to  be  expected 
Y 321 


IVORIES 

that  we  should  find,  in  the  Christian  art  of  Spain,  the  j 
Byzantine  influence  exercised  through  the  medium  of  ' 
western  models  ; while,  on  the  other  hand,  the  Moors 
would  draw  their  inspirations  and  preferences  direct 
from  their  oriental  sources.  They  would  further  be 
governed  by  the  Mahomedan  objection  to  using  in 
ornament  any  kind  of  representation  of  the  human 
form  or  animal  life:  an  objection  which,  however,  in 
their  new  surroundings  was  not  always  rigidly  observed, 
nor  was  any  great  reluctance  shown  to  working  for 
Christian  masters.  Spanish  artists,  on  their  side,  could 
scarcely  avoid  being  influenced  by  and  adapting  Moorish 
styles  and  methods. 

We  arrive,  then,  at  a peculiar  style  of  mixed  art, 
in  which  oriental  feeling  predominates,  which  we  call 
Hispano-Moresque.  Of  the  later  periods — after  about 
the  thirteenth  century — it  is  not  at  all  easy  to  account 
for  the  various  transitions  through  which  the  Arab 
influences  on  the  style  of  decoration  passed  ; nor  can 
we,  in  many  cases,  fix  the  dates  with  any  degree  of 
certainty.  The  oriental  manner  varies  but  little,  and  it 
would  have  been  copied  over  and  over  again,  even  long 
after  the  expulsion  of  the  Moors. 

In  considering  the  examples  of  ivory  carving  in 
Spain  which  we  pos.sess,  of  any  kind — and  they  are  not 
many — there  is  little  reason  to  do  otherwise  than  confine 
the  remarks  which  may  be  made  to  a certain  class  of 
object  of  Moorish  or  Hispano-Moresque  origin,  of  which 
some  fine  examples  are  to  be  found  in  the  Kensington 
Museum.  These  are  the  boxes  and  caskets  of  peculiar 
form,  which  were  evidently  made  for  the  use  of  the 
palaces  of  the  conquering  race.  There  is  little  or  nothing 
to  correspond  with  the  devotional  work  in  other  countries 
of  the  thirteenth  and  fourteenth  centuries.  Of  the  best 
time  of  the  Italian  renaissance,  the  effects  of  which  were 
felt  in  Spain,  as  they  were  everywhere  else,  we  are  abso- 
lutely destitute  of  anything  in  ivory  sculpture  which  could 
322 


PLA TE  LXX 


SPAIN  AND  PORTUGAL 

be  brought  forward.  In  later  times  the  case  is  still  worse. 
What  is  left  of  purely  Spanish  character  is  unfortunately 
of  a type — especially  in  religious  objects — which,  if  not 
always  of  the  most  debased  description  which  we  associate 
with  this  form  of  art  in  Spain,  has  certainly  very  little 
to  recommend  it.  It  cannot  always  even  be  properly 
called  Spanish,  for  it  was  frequently  the  work  of  the 
natives  of  the  colonies  in  the  Chinese  seas  and  elsewhere. 
Italian  influence  and  models  prevailed  in  the  statuettes 
and  religious  plaques  of  which  we  have  examples,  and 
were  adapted  to  the  requirements  which  Spanish  de- 
votional art  seems  to  demand : the  colouring,  the  gro- 
tesque exaggerated  crowns,  and  all  the  rest  of  it.  It  is 
unfortunate  that  it  should  be  so,  for  we  cannot  forget 
the  splendid  examples  of  sculpture  in  wood — the  retables 
and  the  choir-stalls — which  Spain  can  show  of  its  finest 
epoch. 

The  most  characteristic  of  the  caskets  to  which 
allusion  has  been  made  are  the  circular  boxes  with 
flattened,  dome-shaped  covers,  and  a knob  on  the  top. 
It  would  be  difficult  to  exceed  the  firmness  and  precision 
of  the  carving  of  these  admirable  works.  The  surface 
is  almost  entirely  open-worked  in  the  thick  substance  of 
the  ivory  with  a pattern  of  narrow  interlacing  bands, 
which  form  quatrefoils  and  devices,  within  which  are 
conventional  antelopes,  deer,  eagles,  and  other  animals 
and  birds — even  angels  with  spreading  wings — together 
with  a rich  foliation  of  palm  leaves.  Around  the  deep 
margins  of  the  lids  are  inscriptions  in  relief  in  an  ancient 
Cufic  character,  which  are,  of  themselves,  extremely 
decorative.  Of  these  we  have  for  example ; “It  is 
more  beautiful  than  a casket  adorned  with  diamonds,  it 
serves  to  contain  precious  spices,  musk,  camphor,  and 
ambergris.”  Or,  “A  favour  of  God  to  the  servant  of 
God,  A1  Hakem  al  Mostanser  Billah,  Commander  of 
the  faithful”  (a  caliph  of  Cordoba  in  a.d.  961).  And, 
again,  on  an  elaborately  carved  Saracenic  casket  in  the 

323 


IVORIES 

treasury  of  the  cathedral  of  Sens;  “ Hail  to  him  whose 
equal  I never  met,  upon  whom  I rely  more  than  on  any 
other,  that  generous  man  from  whom  whenever  I came 
with  a request  I never  returned  but  with  what  contented 
me  and  with  a joyful  face.”  Other  caskets  are  of  various 
shapes,  but  the  ornamentation  is  similar.  A Spanish 
box  of  the  fourteenth  century  carries  on  the  Saracenic 
character,  and  has  also  an  Arab  inscription. 

If  we  may  judge  from  the  rich  decoration  and  fine 
execution  of  these  caskets,  bearing  in  mind  also  the 
magnificence  and  luxury  which  surrounded  the  caliphs, 
it  would  appear  highly  probable  that  ivory  carving  was 
extensively  practised.  We  owe,  no  doubt,  the  preserva- 
tion of  the  examples  which  have  come  down  to  us  to 
their  having  been  adapted  to  ecclesiastical  uses,  such, 
for  instance,  as  receptacles  for  unconsecrated  wafers. 
That  the  designs  and  inscriptions  were  inappropriate 
would  have  mattered  little,  even  if  the  meaning  of  the 
latter  were  at  all  understood  ; on  the  contrary,  the  new 
service  to  which  they  were  dedicated  would  have  sig- 
nalised the  triumph  of  Christianity. 

A very  curious  cylindrical  casket  in  the  Kensington 
Museum,  acquired  in  1880,  was  made,  as  appears  from 
the  inscription,  for  a captain  of  the  guard  of  Abderah- 
man  III.,  caliph  of  Cordoba  in  a.d.  971.  It  may  have  been 
executed  at  Cordoba,  but  the  style  is  Persian,  and  there 
are  many  human  and  other  figures  ; a horseman  carry- 
ing a hawk,  a great  personage  seated  on  his  throne, 
another  in  a howdah  on  an  elephant,  the  spaces  between 
the  panels  filled  in  with  strapwork  and  with  foliage 
intermixed  with  griffins,  birds,  and  flowers. 

Examples  are  found  also  in  Spain  of  another  class 
of  Arab  box,  namely,  those  which  are  perforated  or  com- 
pletely open-worked  with  a geometrical  pattern.  They 
are  charming  in  simplicity,  with  their  mounts  and  bands 
of  silver  or  copper  and  the  decorative  lettering.  But  we 
have  few  of  the  best  in  our  museums  : none  to  compare 
324 


SPAIN  AND  PORTUGAL 

with  one  in  the  cathedral  of  Saragossa.  Other  coffers  are 
rectangular,  with  sloping  or  roof-shaped  lids.  We  find 
in  the  decoration  the  palmetto  leaf,  and  antelopes,  or 
birds  affrontds  or  dos-a-dos,  in  groups  repeated  as  in  a 
pattern.  There  is  a fine  example  in  the  cathedral  of 
Palencia,  of  the  eleventh  century ; deeply  cut,  but  so  as 
to  present  a level  surface.  Others,  again,  are  of  plain 
ivory  painted  with  coats-of-arms  and  other  designs,  and 
diapered  in  colours  and  gold  in  the  style  which  has 
already  been  noted  in  the  Siculo-Arab  crosiers  and 
caskets  of  the  twelfth  and  thirteenth  centuries.  There 
are  two  Siculo-Arab  caskets  at  South  Kensington  painted 
and  gilt  with  figures  of  saints  and  with  Arab  inscriptions. 
The  Moorish  style  is  found  also  in  the  decoration  of 
some  magnificent  sword-hilts,  and  there  can  be  little 
doubt  that  oliphants  would  have  come  into  Spain  in 
considerable  quantities,  and  have  found  their  way  after- 
wards further  north. 

Very  few  of  the  religious  figures  in  ivory  of  the  later 
periods  call  for  notice.  Crucifixes  are  now  and  again 
attributed  to  the  painter-sculptor,  Alonso  Cano ; but 
though  his  sculpture  in  wood  is  well  known,  there  would 
seem  to  be  no  direct  authority  for  ivory  carving.  Nor, 
if  we  may  judge  from  a crucifix  in  box  wood  at  Kensing- 
ton which  is  attributed  to  him,  do  we  lose  much.  It  is 
of  the  type  which  represents  a nude  human  body  appar- 
ently in  full  vigour  of  life,  the  expression  of  the  face 
insipid  and  sentimental,  the  hair  and  beard  neatly 
combed  and  arranged,  and  the  modelling  of  quite  ordi- 
nary character.  Neither  can  an  oblong  ivory  plaque  in 
the  same  museum,  carved  in  high  relief  with  the  Assump- 
tion of  St.  Francis  and  ascribed  to  Cano,  be  said  to  be 
worthy  of  admiration.  Other  statuettes  of  the  infant 
Saviour,  of  the  Virgin,  and  of  monks  and  saints  and 
bishops,  are  either  of  the  poor  style  of  the  seventeenth 
and  eighteenth  centuries,  or  remarkable  on  account  of 
the  Chinese  or  Indian  characteristics  which  they  show. 

32s 


IVORIES 

When  we  remember  the  monuments  of  Spanish  art, 
the  splendid  altar-pieces,  the  wrought-iron  work,  the 
gorgeous  specimens  of  gold  and  silver  smiths’  work  in 
the  vessels  used  in  the  service  of  the  altar,  the  vest- 
ments and  embroideries,  we  regret  the  more  the  paucity 
of  ivory  carving.  But  wars  and  invasions  apart,  the 
amount  of  destruction  of  works  of  art  which  has  gone 
on  for  centuries  has  been  enormous.  Neglect,  on  the 
one  hand,  did  its  share,  and  the  comparatively  small  in- 
trinsic value  of  ivory  will  account  for  much  which  must 
have  disappeared.  On  the  other  hand,  anything  in  the 
way  of  settings  undoubtedly  found  its  way  speedily  to 
the  melting-pot.  It  is  sufficient  to  recall  the  few  Arab 
ivories  which  we  possess,  and  such  an  example  as  the 
ivory  crucifix  of  Leon,  to  feel  certain  that  very  many 
fine  things  have  been  lost. 

There  is,  of  course,  from  their  geographical  position 
and  political  connection,  together  with  the  similarities 
of  national  character,  a considerable  resemblance  between 
the  arts  of  Spain  and  Portugal,  so  much  so  that  at  times 
it  becomes  difficult  to  discriminate  and  rightly  to  assign 
the  country  of  origin  of  certain  works.  Portugal  suf- 
fered also  the  same  invasion  and  domination  of  the 
Moors.  Much,  therefore,  that  has  previously  been  said 
will  apply  to  both  countries.  On  the  other  hand,  we 
shall  have  to  bear  in  mind  the  Portuguese  settlements 
in  India,  the  results  of  which  are  especially  to  be  re- 
marked in  the  case  of  the  use  of  ivory  in  sculpture  and 
decoration.  In  the  sixteenth  century,  after  Goa  was 
taken  by  the  Portuguese  under  Albuquerque,  importa- 
tions of  Indian  art  were  poured  by  them  in  quantities 
into  their  own  country.  The  style  was  liked,  became 
popular,  and  was  extensively  imitated.  We  may  leave 
on  one  side  for  the  present  the  furniture  inlaid  with 
ivory  in  the  manner  which  in  the  west  is  known  as 
Certosina.  But  besides  this,  which  the  Portuguese 
affected  largely  and  themselves  manufactured  to  a con- 
326 


WEST  AFRICAN  IVORIES 

siderable  extent,  even  in  religious  art  the  native  Chris- 
tians of  Goa  fashioned  many  of  the  statuettes  and  other 
ivory  carvings  which  were  made  to  order  in  India. 
Portugal  had  also  her  colony  at  Macao,  and  here  again 
the  same  effects  followed,  not  only  with  regard  to  native 
work,  but  also,  to  a lesser  extent,  perhaps,  than  in  the 
case  of  India,  from  the  influence  of  Chinese  art  and 
decoration. 

A very  curious  example  of  Goa  work,  the  meaning 
of  which  does  not  appear  to  be  quite  clear,  is  that  known 
as  the  “Pilgrim”  or  “Shepherd”  rockery.  This  is  in 
the  form  of  a mountain  or  rocky  hill,  with  a spring 
from  which  a stream  of  water  flows.  Beneath  are  some 
sheep,  and  at  the  top  a youthful  shepherd,  apparently 
asleep.  Examples  are  to  be  found  in  many  museums. 
One  is  in  the  Mayer  collection  at  Liverpool. 

A great  deal  of  interest  has  lately  been  taken  in  some 
ivory  carvings  from  the  west  coast  of  Africa,  where  the 
Portuguese  founded  a settlement  in  the  fifteenth  century. 
The  earliest  specimens  which  came  to  this  country  were 
usually  classed  as  Goa  work ; but  since  the  English  ex- 
pedition to  Benin  in  1896,  which  destroyed  the  power 
of  the  savage  kings  of  that  district,  a large  quantity  of 
remarkable  ivory  carvings  and  bronzes  which  were 
brought  back  seems  to  establish  the  fact  of  the  African 
origin  of  a good  deal  that  was  previously  uncertain. 
The  ivories  are  now,  for  the  most  part,  in  the  British 
Museum. 

Benin  is  situated  on  the  Guinea  coast,  near  the  mouth 
of  the  Niger.  Discovered  by  the  Portuguese  in  the 
fourteenth  or  fifteenth  century,  they  were  followed  later 
by  the  Dutch,  and  eventually  we  ourselves  established 
trade  relations  there.  The  bronzes  and  brass  work  are 
very  curious  and  interesting,  and  no  doubt  go  back  to 
the  early  times  of  the  European  settlement,  the  natives 
having  received  instruction  in  casting  them  by  the 
Portuguese.  With  these  we  need  not  concern  ourselves. 

327 


IVORIES 

Neither  is  it  necessary  to  do  more  than  recall  the  English 
expedition  in  1896,  and  the  massacres  of  our  troops 
which  it  entailed  before  the  flight  and  capture  of  the 
king  and  the  annexation  of  the  territory  to  the  British 
crown. 

The  ivories  in  the  British  Museum,  whether  from 
the  latest  expedition  or  from  former  ones,  comprise  a 
number  which  were  no  doubt  the  work  of  the  early 
Portuguese  settlers  themselves;  others  which  are  purely 
native  in  design  and  workmanship,  and  others,  again, 
copied  from  objects  of  art  which  the  Portuguese  had 
brought  with  them,  or  had  caused  to  be  carved  by  native 
workers  under  their  instruction,  or  are  of  a mixed  char- 
acter. There  are  cups  or  covered  bowls  upheld  by  rudely 
executed  grotesque  human  figures,  drinking  and  other 
horns  with  extremely  well-designed  bands  of  interlace- 
ments in  the  style  which  we  associate  with  Scandinavian 
or  Celtic  work — really,  perhaps,  one  of  the  earliest  forms 
of  ornament  resulting  from  the  weaving  of  reeds  and 
grasses.  The  horn  in  the  British  Museum  here  illus- 
trated was  of  course  made  for  the  Portuguese,  and 
probably  by  native  workmen.  The  Spencer  horn,  in 
the  possession  of  Earl  Spencer,  is  almost  identical  and 
of  similar  origin.  Some  of  the  designs  on  the  tusks  are 
intensely  reminiscent  of  the  carvings  in  the  architecture 
of  the  buried  cities  of  Central  America.  Then,  again, 
we  have  some  small  lions,  evidently  copied  from  Chinese 
kylins  brought  by  the  Portuguese.  Numbers  of  huge 
tusks  were  brought  to  England  by  the  late  expedition, 
and  are  now  in  the  museum.  They  are  rudely  carved, 
and  have  probably  figured  in  many  a dreadful  Ju-ju 
ceremony.  The  details  given  in  Mr.  Roth's  lately 
published  work.  Great  Benin,  are  almost  too  horrible 
to  contemplate.  Most  of  the  tusks  were  found  in  situ 
as  doorposts  and  the  like,  and  covered  thickly  with  con- 
gealed blood.  Others  are  evidently  of  a great  age,  and 
are  in  a very  decayed  condition.  There  is  little  interesting 
328 


V3IM,'I\  VTIX’IHM  'llir,  IVOM.I  SIOIOAI  1XX7  .7,/P7,/ 


1 


WEST  AFRICAN  IVORIES 

about  these  things,  and  savage  art  demands,  perhaps,  a 
special  taste  in  order  to  be  thoroughly  appreciated.  At 
the  same  time,  the  collection  of  ivory  carvings  from 
West  Africa,  which  has  been  many  years  in  the  museum, 
and  is  evidently  the  result  of  Portuguese  influence,  is 
certainly  worth  attention.  It  includes  one  of  the  curious 
“ Pilgrim  ” pieces  which  have  been  just  now  noticed. 


329 


CHAPTER  XV 


INDIA,  PERSIA,  ARABIA 

A LMOST  unconsciously  we  associate  in  our  minds 
L\  the  art  of  ivory  carving  with  India  more  than 
^ with  any  other  country.  The  name  alone  brings 
with  it  the  idea  of  the  elephant,  and  of  the  tusks  which 
furnish  the  beautiful  material.  Nor  is  this  without 
reason.  The  quantity  of  ivory  worked  in  and  exported 
from  India  has  for  centuries  been  enormous.  We  need 
not  again  stop  to  consider  the  relative  amounts  of  ivory 
which  India  proper  and  her  dependencies  produce,  com- 
pared with  those  which  exist  in  and  are  exported  from 
Africa  and  other  countries  where  the  elephant  has 
flourished  and  has  been  utilised  in  all  times  of  which 
we  have  any  history.  It  is,  of  course,  certain  that  India 
being  in  possession  of  practically  unlimited  supplies, 
and  her  people  being,  moreover,  endowed  with  natural 
artistic  instincts,  the  idea  of  the  adaptation  of  ivory  to 
all  kinds  of  decorative  purposes  would  have  been,  from 
the  first,  eagerly  seized  upon.  And  in  the  development 
which  followed,  we  shall  remember  India’s  geographical 
position,  how  this  great  empire  has  been  in  all  ages  the 
highway  for  traffic  between  the  distant  east  and  the 
west,  and  the  influence  which  her  arts,  either  in  a 
direct  manner,  or  filtered  through  those  of  other  nations, 
exercised  upon  the  art  of  every  other  civilised  country. 
Nor  could  the  results  of  this  constant  traffic,  of  the 
passing  through  these  territories  of  the  invading  hordes 
330 


INDIA,  PERSIA,  ARABIA 

of  Greeks  and  Persians,  Scythians  and  Tartars,  and,  in 
one  way  or  another,  the  influence  of  every  other  nation 
under  the  sun,  have  had  a less  important  effect  within 
the  empire  itself.  Not  so  conspicuously,  perhaps,  with 
regard  to  purely  Indian  art,  in  the  taste  and  for  the 
purposes  of  the  people,  but  very  much  and  disastrously 
so  when  we  consider,  in  the  latest  times,  the  influx  of 
western  designers,  the  enforced  reception  of  western 
ideas  and  methods  by  the  hands  of  her  conquerors,  and 
the  vast  quantity  of  ornamental  work  turned  out  for  the 
European  market. 

Although  the  use  of  ivory  for  decorative  purposes 
has  been  constant,  and  has  been  largely  practised  in 
India  for  so  long  a time,  it  has  not  a history  which 
we  feel  called  upon  to  follow  in  the  same  manner  in 
which  we  have  endeavoured  to  follow — or,  at  least,  to 
outline — the  progress  of  ivory  carving  in  the  west,  and 
in  the  countries  with  which  the  west  has  been  more 
intimately  connected.  For  these  reasons.  First,  with 
regard  to  both  ancient  and  modern  ivories,  it  might  be 
necessary  to  consider  at  some  length  the  indissoluble 
connection  between  the  arts  of  India  and  the  whole 
system  of  Hindoo  mythology,  which  is  so  intimately 
bound  up  with  them.  Next,  we  could  hardly  avoid  a 
constant  reference  to  and  comparison  with — if  not  every 
other  decorative  art  of  India — at  least  the  sculptural 
arts.  To  attempt  this  without  occupying  considerable 
space  would  be  difflcult,  and  without  very  ample  illus- 
trations would  be  wearisome.  Lastly,  we  have  to  take 
into  account  the  relations  with  other  countries,  the 
constantly  changing  conditions,  the  exactions  of  the 
conquering  nations,  and  the  call  which  has  ever  been 
made  on  Indian  artists  to  satisfy  the  taste  of,  and  to 
respond  to,  other  feelings  than  their  own.  And  it  may 
be  questioned  whether,  owing  to  these  and  other  causes, 
we  should  be  able  to  find  sufficient  examples  from  which 
to  show  that  the  system  of  sculpture  in  India  can  hold 

331 


IVORIES 

a high  rank  at  all  as  a fine  art,  according  to  our  western 
ideas,  and,  as  a result,  whether  we  can  expect  a great 
amount  of  interest  to  be  accorded  to  it.  It  need  hardly 
be  explained  that  we  do  not  presume  so  to  speak  of  the 
arts  of  India  generally,  or  even  of  her  sculpture,  except- 
ing so  far  as  it  is  connected  with  ivory  carving.  All 
these  things  may  very  well  be  left  in  the  competent 
hands  of  those  who  have  written  upon  them. 

When  we  consider  the  application  of  ivory  to  decora- 
tive purposes,  as  we  find  it  presented  to  us  in  the  great 
mass  of  objects  exhibited  in  museums  and  collections, 
it  is  difficult  to  avoid  the  impression  that  the  general 
character  of  the  art  is  one  which  appeals,  and  could 
appeal,  to  but  few  amongst  us.  There  is  a sameness,  a 
repetition,  an  overloading,  a crowding  and  elaboration 
of  detail,  which  become  wearisome  before  we  have  gone 
very  far.  We  are  spoken  to  of  things,  and  in  a lan- 
guage, of  which  we  are  ignorant.  We  regard  them  with 
a listless  kind  of  attention.  There  is  nothing  to  rouse 
us.  In  a word,  we  are  not  interested.  We  feel  that 
the  artist  has  ever  been  bound  and  enslaved  by  the 
traditions  of  Hindoo  mythology.  We  are  met  at 
every  turn  by  the  interminable  processions  of  mon- 
strous gods  and  goddesses,  these  Buddhas  and  Krish- 
nas,  Vishnus  and  Ramas,  these  hideous  deities  with 
animals’  heads  and  innumerable  arms,  these  dancing 
women  with  expressionless  faces  and  strange  garments. 
Or  again,  the  same  figures — human  and  yet  not  of  our 
race,  living  but  lacking  any  semblance  of  vivacity — are 
presented  to  us  with  monotonous  repetition  ; with  the 
absolute  sameness  and  quite  as  little  artistic  value  as 
on  an  ordinary  wall-paper.  They  are  thus  disposed 
without  intelligible  reason.  No  suggestion  is  evoked, 
as  in  the  case,  for  example,  of  the  sculptures  at  Thebes. 
They  are  not  beautiful,  nor  do  the  forms  or  the  arrange- 
ment of  them  assist  the  decoration. 

It  may  be  said,  perhaps,  that  the  employment  of 
332 


INDIA,  PERSIA,  ARABIA 

these  mythological  figures  is  not  an  invariable  accom- 
paniment. That  is  so,  but  the  general  ornament  is 
equally  monotonous.  We  rarely  — the  ivories  will 
especially  illustrate  this — get  away  from  the  eternal 
repetition  of  the  same  kind  of  floral  scroll  which,  like 
a weed,  covers  every  portion  of  the  surface  to  be 
decorated,  leaving  not  a square  inch  for  the  eye  to 
rest  upon.  And  it  may  also  be  remarked  that  we 
have  in  this  ivory  sculpture  no  colour  to  help  us. 
Nor,  from  the  small  scale,  and  from  the  technical 
method  in  which  the  carving  is  carried  out,  can  colour, 
or  tone  of  any  kind,  be  suggested.  Throughout  it  all 
there  is  a want  of  simplicity,  a barbaric  profusion,  so 
that  the  mind  is  given  no  repose,  but  wanders  vaguely 
throughout  the  composition.  Ivory  sculpture  is  not  at 
its  best  in  the  display  of  a pattern,  after  the  manner  of 
a Cashmere  shawl.  In  the  oldest  and  finest  work  the 
case  is  different ; but,  as  a rule,  rarely  do  we  find  the 
theme  of  decoration  less  intricate  and  crowded,  the  treat- 
ment of  the  vegetation  and  floral  ornament  less  stiff 
and  unnatural.  In  his  figures  the  Hindoo  artist  seems 
absolutely  incapable — it  may  be  reluctant — to  reproduce 
the  human  form ; he  ignores  anatomy,  he  appears  to  have 
no  idea  of  giving  any  expression  to  the  features.  There 
is  no  distinction  between  the  work  of  one  man  and 
another.  Is  the  name  of  a single  artist  familiar?  The 
reproduction  of  type  is  literal ; one  divinity  resembles 
another,  and  we  can  only  distinguish  them  by  their 
attributes,  or  by  the  more  or  less  hideous  occupations 
in  which  they  may  be  supposed  to  be  engaged. 

That  the  representations  of  personages  and  events 
relating  to  the  Hindoo  pantheon  may  have  a special 
and  important  interest  of  their  own  cannot,  of  course, 
be  denied  ; but  they  are  not  subjects  which  appeal  to 
many  of  us.  They  have  not  even  the  charm  of  the 
Japanese  folk-lore  and  mythology  which,  in  the  art  of 
Japan — little  intimate  as  may  be  our  acquaintance  with 

333 


IVORIES 

them — still  have  their  stories  to  tell,  which  are  not  so 
far  removed  from  our  own  ideas  as  to  prevent  our 
delighting  in  them.  It  is  difficult  to  understand  why 
the  Hindoo  mythological  system  should  form  the  staple 
matter  of  many  books  on  Indian  art  in  so  disproportion- 
ate a manner,  at  least,  to  the  questions  involved  in  the 
art  itself. 

The  impression  which  we  derive  from  a general 
survey  of  ivory  carving  in  such  a collection  as  that  in 
the  India  Museum  at  Kensington,  than  which  no  more 
comprehensive  one  representing  Indian  art  could  else- 
where be  found,  is  that  we  have  first  Hindoo  art  proper, 
and  next  the  results  of  the  interference  of  the  foreigner. 
The  term  interference  is  intentionally  used,  instead  of 
influence,  because  in  such  cases  especially  as  the  conquests 
and  occupations  of  the  Portuguese  and  the  British  it  has 
been  imposed  and  forced  upon  the  oriental  temperament 
for  political  or  trade  reasons,  rather  than  assimilated 
from  choice  and  inclination.  Of  the  oriental  influences 
and  varieties,  the  most  striking  are  the  Mogul  and  the 
Cingalese,  and  these,  with  the  native  Hindoo,  may  be 
said  to  be  the  dominant  types.  Leaving  apart,  for  the 
moment,  the  articles  made  for  the  European  market, 
we  have  no  such  choice  of  objects  and  decoration  as  that 
which  the  palmy  days  of  ivory  sculpture  in  Christian 
countries  have  furnished  to  us.  We  can  bring  forward 
no  cups  and  tankards,  no  statuettes,  no  pastoral  staves 
or  other  objects  for  religious  use,  no  horns  or  weapons 
for  the  chase,  and  we  do  not  understand  the  stories 
which  the  figures  tell  us  as  we  do  those  of  a mediaeval 
diptych. 

Our  references  to  individual  pieces  must  be  few,  in 
default  of  illustrations  which  a visit  to  the  India  Museum 
will  better  supply.  For  Hindoo  art  proper  it  may  appear 
strange  that  we  should  go  to  Ceylon;  but  certainly  we 
could  hardly  find  it  better  illustrated  than  in  some 
Cingalese  plaques  of  the  seventeenth  century  from  the 

334 


PLATE  LXMl  '-OUTUKRN  IX1>1AN'  CA^^Kl:l  AN  U CIXGALHSE  PLAGUES 


i 


SEN’KM  FKNTH  CKNTURV 


INDIA,  PERSIA,  ARABIA 

Nevill  collection,  of  which  we  give  two  illustrations. 
Here  we  have  repeated — but  not  in  an  aimless,  exag- 
gerated way — some  seated  mythological  figures  in  a 
floral  arabesque,  and  with  floral  borders  of  a beautiful 
scroll  design,  of  bold  and  broad  workmanship.  Or 
we  may  take  again,  both  for  figures  and  borders,  the 
southern  Indian(Travancore)  seventeenth-century  casket, 
also  illustrated  ; a fine  and  typical  example  in  its  way. 
Then  we  have  the  Mogul  style  in  a small  oblong 
casket  of  the  seventeenth  century,  with  a really  charm- 
ing and  delicate  floral  pattern  in  low  relief,  simple, 
broadly  treated,  well  executed,  and  entirely  free  from 
the  niggling  fashion  too  often  found.  No  better  styles 
than  these  could  be  mentioned  ; they  recur  frequently 
with  more  or  less  merit,  and  it  would  be  superfluous  to 
repeat  the  references. 

Mention  may  be  made,  in  passing,  of  numerous 
Cingalese  caskets  made  by  native  Christians  which 
have  biblical  subjects  from  European  models  amongst 
the  floral  arabesque  Hindoo  decoration.  A fine  Cin- 
galese spoon,  or  dipper,  is  well  known,  very  large,  with 
its  cocoanut-shaped  silver  bowl  and  elaborately  carved 
ivory  handle  mounted  with  gold  and  jewelled.  In  a 
Benares  palanquin  completely  covered  with  thick  plaques 
of  ivory  we  have  a mixture  of  pure  Hindoo  and  Mogul 
ornament  in  the  borders.  Some  of  the  plaques  are  carved 
in  relief  with  fighting  elephants,  lions,  and  all  sorts  of 
reminiscences  of  the  styles  of  countries  still  farther  east. 
Combs  with  a double  row  of  teeth  are  not  uncommon, 
and  when  of  simple  design  are  elegant  and  examples  of 
good  art.  Such,  for  instance,  is  one  of  which  the  rect- 
angular field  is  composed  of  an  endless  intertwisted 
band  in  open-work  within  a border  of  pierced  quatre- 
foils.  After  all,  there  is  nothing  distinctively  oriental 
in  this  design. 

The  results  of  foreign  interference  cannot  be  said  to 
have  been  productive  of  good.  Amongst  them,  the 

335 


IVORIES 

Portuguese  occupation  caused  the  exportation  and  dis- 
semination in  Europe  of  a large  quantity  of  articles  of 
a hybrid  art,  ranging  from  religious  statuettes  and  other 
devotional  objects  to  articles  of  furniture  inlaid  with 
ivory  in  the  Certosina  style,  which  are  more  often  than 
not  classed  as  Portuguese. 

It  is  generally  admitted  that  Orientals  have  never 
yet  attempted  with  success  to  engraft  upon  their  own 
art,  or  to  assimilate  western  ideas  and  models.  The 
results  are  disastrous,  when,  as  in  the  cases  of  other 
arts  besides  ivory  carving,  British  influence  has  been 
forced  upon  them.  Without,  however,  straying  from 
our  subject,  perhaps  no  more  terrible  instance  could  be 
given  than  the  suite  of  ivory  armchairs  and  a chess- 
table,  now  in  the  India  Museum,  which  were  produced 
at  Berhampore  for  the  great  exhibition  of  1851.  If  an 
attempt  were  purposely  made  to  show  to  what  depths 
of  vulgarity  and  bad  taste  art  could  be  made  to  descend, 
together  with  a waste  of  a valuable  and  beautiful  material, 
it  would  be  difficult  to  succeed  better  than  has  been  done 
with  these  astounding  specimens. 

It  is  hardly  necessary  to  do  more  than  chronicle  the 
very  considerable  industry  in  ivory  carving  made  in 
India  and  its  dependencies  for  the  European  market. 
A large  and  excellent  collection  of,  in  many  cases, 
carefully  executed  and,  up  to  a certain  point,  beautiful 
examples,  is  in  the  India  Museum  at  South  Kensington. 
We  are  familiar  with  the  endless  variety  of  sandal-wood 
boxes  inlaid  with  ivory  mosaic,  in  the  well-known  style 
from  Bombay,  the  tables,  prayer-stools,  cabinets,  and 
chess-boards ; the  large  mythological  groups,  the  elephants 
and  native  figures,  and  the  ekka  bullock-carts  brought 
back  by  every  traveller,  and  preserved  under  glass  shades 
in  so  many  suburban  drawing-rooms  ; the  card-cases, 
paper-knives,  scratch-backs,  knife-handles,  dice-boxes, 
fly-flappers,  fans,  chessmen,  puzzles,  and  turnery  work  ; 
there  is  profusion  of  it,  and  much  may  be  said  to  be 


).)N:\ WM.I  Mil  -I  Ml  ISA  iv)  l.'I  MSWA  W'KTXI  XM'I  II  I .11  )S  .\'7  TIJ.VTd 


INDIA,  PERSIA,  ARABIA 

extremely  good.  India  has  always  been  deservedly 
famous  for  such  things.  The  best  are  produced  mainly 
at  Benares,  Bombay,  Murshedabad,  Umritsur,  Delhi, 
Travancore,  and  Ahmedabad;  but  it  is  hardly  necessary 
to  make  distinctions,  for  the  industry  flourishes  in  all 
the  great  centres. 

In  Persia  ivory  seems  to  have  been  less  worked  than 
in  other  parts  of  the  east,  except  for  sword-handles. 
For  these  it  was  the  rule,  and  they  are  also  almost 
invariably  of  walrus  ivory.  An  illustration  is  given, 
from  a photograph  in  the  Art  Museum  at  Kensington, 
of  a fine  seventeenth-century  cabinet  at  one  time  belong- 
ing to  MM.  Rollin  and  Feuardent,  ascribed  to  Persia, 
but  of  distinctly  southern  Indian  workmanship,  perhaps 
from  Mysore  or  Travancore.  One  cannot  always  be 
sure  of  the  origin  of  ivories  with  a Persian  character. 
An  Arab  cylindrical  box  of  the  kind  has  already  been 
referred  to  in  the  chapter  on  ivories  in  Spain.  Persian 
ivories  are,  at  any  rate,  extremely  rare,  and  there  are 
none  at  South  Kensington. 

Arabian  art  in  ivory  is  always  beautiful,  with  an  at- 
traction peculiarly  its  own.  There  are  about  it  a facility 
of  execution,  a breadth  and  firmness  of  touch,  which 
are  quite  remarkable,  and  perhaps  hardly  sufficiently 
recognised.  We  need  not  again  allude  to  work  of  the 
character  of  the  Hispano-Moresque  caskets,  except  to 
add  to  it  another  class  of  box,  usually  cylindrical,  in 
which  the  whole  surface  is  covered  with  a perforated 
diapered  pattern,  and  always  with  a band  of  the  decorative 
Arab  lettering.  Of  this  distinctively  Saracenic  type, 
with  its  system  of  open-worked  geometrical  arrangement 
of  circles  and  stars,  some  beautiful  thirteenth-century 
examples  are  in  the  India  Museum.  There  is  also  some 
Turkish  ivory  work  of  a similar  character. 

The  most  interesting  application  of  ivory  in  Saracenic 
art  is  one  on  which  we  cannot  but  regret  that  our  space 
will  not  permit  us  to  dwell  at  greater  length.  It  is  the 
z 337 


IVORIES 

inlay  in  geometrical  designs  for  the  panelling  of  doors 
and  furniture  of  various  kinds.  Many  varieties  of  the 
Mushrabeeyeh  work  which  is  so  well  known  are  inlaid 
with  ivory.  It  is,  in  fact,  a mosaic,  a complicated 
arrangement  in  little  hexagonal  or  other  multi-sided 
panels  of  geometrical  designs  and  arabesques,  varying  j 
so  much  that  hardly  ever  do  any  two  exactly  resemble 
one  another.  Lines  of  ivory  are  set  round  the  carved 
and  inlaid  wooden  panels  or,  on  the  other  hand,  ivory 
panels  are  set  in  borders  of  ebony  mingled  with  various 
other  woods.  It  is  difficult  to  imagine  any  system  which 
could  lend  itself  better  to  a fertile  artistic  imagination 
than  this  especially  characteristic  Arab  marquetry.  The 
almost  puzzling  intricacies  of  the  interlacing  lines,  the 
harmony  of  the  passage  from  the  whiteness  of  the  ivory 
to  the  more  sombre  woods  and  jet-black  ebony,  the 
innumerable  geometrical  combinations,  the  imperceptible, 
yet  effective,  variations  in  level  of  the  general  surface 
of  the  design,  the  fine  carving  of  the  ivory  incrustation, 
even  when  these  inlays  are  quite  small — all  this  is  more 
striking  than  anything  that  certosina  or  tarsia  work, 
with  their  greater  regularity,  can  show.  Both  methods 
have,  no  doubt,  a like  origin  in  Persia.  The  magnificent 
niinbar,  or  pulpit,  at  South  Kensington,  is  a well-known 
admirable  example.  A further  development  is  to  be  found 
in  Coptic  screens,  in  which  whole  panels  of  ivory,  carved 
in  relief,  are  added  : sometimes,  also,  thin  ivory  slabs, 
through  which  the  light  of  lamps  shines  dimly.  Most 
visitors  to  Cairo  are  carried  off  by  their  dragoman  to 
the  dingy  and  evil-smelling  churches  in  the  Coptic 
quarter.  There,  surrounded  by  narrow  and  tortuous 
lanes  and  alleys,  is  the  tenth-century  church  of  Abu- 
Seyfn,  which  possesses  one  of  the  finest  known  screens 
of  the  kind. 


338 


PLATE  LXXIV  PANELS  OF  PULPIT  DOORS.  SARACENIC 


FOUKTEEXTH  CENTUKV 


IVORIES 

inlay  in  geonictrical  desij^'ns  for  the  panelling  of  doors 
and  furniture  of  various  kinds.  Many  varieties  of  the 
Mushrabeeych  work  which  is  so  well  known  are  inlaid 
with  jvory.  ft  is,  in  fact,  a mosaic,  a complicated 
arraviyer^ient  in  little  hexagonal  or  other  multi-sided 
j -vr.ds  u(  geometrical  designs  and  arabesques,  varying 
•'  iWuch  that  hardly  ever  do  any  two  exactly  resemble 
en.  uuother.  Lines  of  ivory  are  set  round  the  carved 
?t!;aid  wooden  panels  or,  on  the  other  hand,  ivory 
are  set  in  borders  of  ebony  mingled  with  various 
'••daor  woods.  It  is  difficult  to  imagine  any  system  which 
/•.  i'  ; lend  itself  better  to  a fertile  artistic  imagination 

■ Uiis  especjaliy  characteristic  Arab  marquetry.  The 
i'Uhv;:  ouzzling  lutricEicies  of  the  interlacing  lines,  the 
b u tr.wn)-  rif  the  passage  from  the  whiteness  of  the  ivory 

the  roDiv  woods  and  jet-black  ebony,  the 

innumerable 'a>mbinations,the  imperceptible, 
yet  effective,  ' : L .-d  of  the  general  surface 

of  the  design,  the  ■'  ■aM  - ‘ > onM’ncrustation, 

even  when  these  uii^:.ys  io:  <natv  .me - .dl  this  is  more 
striking  aryihing  duu  i:enonr:a  or  tarsia  work, 

with  then- yrcao;.;  ; i, '.a  o e , . .-^hods 

have,  nu  d'se 

ftiniba-''  ■ - e-  s..ensiagioii,  is  a weii-known 

acini:  I :i;:  > ; . e , . . V further  development  is  to  be  found 

in  Cc  c.'  i-  . ns,  in  which  whole  panels  of  ivory,  carved 
fu  rVs-.  f,  aiv  added  : sometimes,  also,  thin  ivory  slabs, 
‘ '"o.'gii  which  the  light  of  lamps  shines  dimly.  Most 

■ ^ mors  to  Cairo  are  carried  off  by  their  dragoman  to 
01 ::  dingy  and  evil-smeliing  churches  in  the  Coptic 
auuter.  There,  surrounded  by  narrow  and  tortuous 
Sines  and  alleys,  is  the  tenth-century  church  of  Abu- 
Seyfn,  which  possesses  one  of  the  finest  known  screens 
A the  kind. 


PLATE  LXXIV  PANELS  OP  PULPIT  DOORS.  SARACENIC 


FOURTEENTH  CEXTUKV 


CHAPTER  XVI 


CHINA  AND  JAPAN 


THOUGH  the  quantity  of  objects  for  which  ivory 


is  used  in  China  is  very  large,  there  is  little 


^ ^ to  call  for  detailed  notice,  nor  is  it  necessary  to 

devote  to  them  any  considerable  amount  of  space.  In 
a general  way,  with  very  rare  exceptions  indeed,  what 
we  know  of  Chinese  ivory  carving  is  confined  to  those 
examples  which  are  turned  out  for  the  European  market, 
and  for  the  most  part  are  not  intended  to  appeal  to 
cultivated  tastes.  It  would  be  impossible,  in  fact,  to 
consider  seriously  as  works  of  art  what,  on  the  other 
hand,  it  may  be  perfectly  reasonable  to  admire  as 
prodigies  of  mechanical  dexterity  and  ingenuity,  joined 
to  a degree  of  patient  application  which  excites  our 
wonderment.  Such,  for  example,  are  the  well-known 
intricate  puzzle-balls.  Beyond  this  patient  application 
there  appears  indeed  to  be  nothing  which  demands 
more  than  the  most  passing  notice. 

As  curiosities  most  museums  possess  specimens  of 
the  enormous  models  of  villas  and  gardens  with  their 
paths  and  rockeries  carried  out  in  the  style  of  the  willow- 
pattern  plate,  and  made  of  blocks  and  veneers  of  ivory, 
the  trees  and  foliage  imitated  with  the  brilliant  turquoise- 
blue  feathers  of  the  kingfisher,  which  are  used  also  in 
Chinese  jewellery,  the  water  with  glass  or  crystal,  the 
robes  of  the  little  figures  stained  and  coloured.  In 
other  models,  allowing  for  the  “Chinese”  style,  it  is 
true  that  we  can  call  to  mind  better  and  less  flimsy 


339 


IVORIES 

things.  There  is  a certain  amount  of  attractiveness  in 
the  model  of  a sampan,  the  hull  of  solid  polished  ivory, 
the  passengers  standing  up  on  the  deck  beneath  the 
awning  arrayed  in  gorgeously  painted  robes,  the  natural- 
istic lilies  with  their  stained  leaves,  the  whole  reposing 
on  a bed  of  always  the  same  fabric  with  always  the 
same  blue  silk  edging.  With  this  kind  of  work  we  are 
familiar,  but  there  is  in  it  nothing  of  the  imagination, 
the  spirit,  the  observation,  and  the  vitality  which  a 
Japanese  would  display  in  his  treatment  of  quite  as 
commonplace  a subject.  Such  things  are  made  for  a 
dreamer  of  dreams  of  Chinese  type. 

A mortar  for  pounding  drugs  of  old  Chinese  work 
is  illustrated.  There  is  a similar  mortar  with  its  pestle 
in  the  collection  at  Oscott  Seminary.  Vessels  of  this 
kind  come  probably  from  Portuguese  settlements,  where 
they  were  used  for  pounding  incense  for  church  purposes. 

Very  curious  are  the  ivory  puzzle-balls,  the  outer 
one  having  within  it  a dozen  or  more  diminishing  in 
size  down  to  the  smallest,  no  larger  than  a pea,  but 
every  one  perfectly  detached  and  movable,  and  carved 
with  a pierced  pattern,  which  is  not  alike  on  any  two 
balls.  The  whole,  and  in  addition  a chain  for  suspen- 
sion, is  carved  out  of  one  piece  of  ivory  without  a join. 
Some  puzzle-balls  are  very  large  and  elaborately  carved 
on  the  outer  surface,  but  the  best,  which  are  uncommon, 
are  perfectly  plain,  so  that  there  can  be  no  suspicion  of 
any  sort  of  join.  It  is  difficult  to  describe  the  method 
by  which  these  things  are  made,  but  it  may  be  said 
shortly  to  consist  in  piercing  a number  of  holes  in  such 
a way  as  to  gradually  diminish  to  a point  at  the  centre, 
and  then  with  a special  tool  to  work  through  these 
openings  and  carefully  detach  each  inner  ball,  turning 
it  round  as  the  work  proceeds.  It  is  a mistake,  how- 
ever, to  imagine  that  balls  of  this  description  require 
great  skill  to  produce,  or  that  they  involve  the  labour 
of  a lifetime.  The  whole  of  the  work,  except  the 
340 


PLATE  LXXi' 


CHINKSK  n'ORIliS 

l-UZZLK  BALI..  2.  .MOKTAK.  I'l.U  CHINESE 


CHINA  AND  JAPAN 

decoration,  is  done  in  the  lathe,  in  an  eccentric  chuck, 
and  as  a matter  of  fact  it  is  not  an  unfreqiient  diversion 
of  the  amateur  turner. 

One  curious  example  of  figure  sculpture  may  be  men- 
tioned. These  are  the  representations  of  the  Buddhist 
goddess  Kvvanzin,  with  the  infant  in  her  arms.  There 
is  a remarkable  resemblance  in  them  to  the  mediaeval 
statuettes.  The  same  twist  or  bend  arising  from  the 
shape  of  the  tusks  is  to  be  observed  ; a rosary  hangs 
from  the  girdle,  and  even  in  the  faces  of  the  mother  and 
child  there  is  no  marked  Chinese  character.  But  they 
are  not  in  any  way  Christian  work,  as  some  imagine 
them  to  be. 

The  work  on  Chinese  ivory  fans,  with  their  pierced 
and  chased  sticks  and  guards,  is,  of  course,  very  delicate 
and  remarkable.  From  them  the  fashion  spread  into 
Europe,  and  has  been  especially  practised  in  France. 

It  is  delightful  to  turn  from  the  restricted  ideas  and 
cold  formality  of  Chinese  sculpture,  in  which  there 
appears  to  be  no  scope  for  originality  and  absolutely 
no  evidences  of  the  individuality  of  the  artist,  to  the 
personality  and  variety  of  invention  which  form  the 
charm  of  Japanese  art.  It  has  been  said,  and  it  may 
be  true,  that  all  Japanese  art  is  of  Chinese  origin.  We 
shall  take  it  as  we  find  it.  Religion,  and  some  symbols 
and  legends  apart,  the  sources  have  in  the  main  dis- 
appeared, and  would  be  difficult  to  trace. 

In  dealing  with  ivory  carving  in  Japan  two  points 
will  be  very  evident.  The  first  is  that  we  shall  be 
occupied  almost  entirely  with  comparatively  modern 
art.  The  practice  of  sculpture  in  ivory  does  not  go 
back  very  far.  We  shall  scarcely  go  beyond  the  middle 
of  the  eighteenth  century  even  for  our  earliest  examples : 
for  the  most  part  they  will  be  considerably  later.  Next, 
our  attention  will  be  directed  to  nothing  very  serious, 
nothing  which  has  pretensions  to  do  more  than  interest 
by  the  charm  of  a system  of  decoration  applied  to 

341 


IVORIES 


objects  of  ordinary  domestic  use,  but  which  at  the  same 
time  is  characterised  by  the  extraordinary  taste  and 
talent  which  are  innate  with  the  Japanese,  and  not  un- 
frequently  bears  the  mark  of  their  most  distinguished 
artists.  It  has  been  well  said  by  a French  writer  that 
the  art  of  Japan  is  'Tart  du  bibelot^'  by  which  is  meant 
that  though  trifles  only  may  be  concerned,  yet  we  may 
find  art  in  them  of  the  highest  kind.  Nowhere  is  this 
better  exemplified,  and  in  a very  high  degree,  than  in 
the  delightful  little  netsiikes  and  other  small  objects 
which  we  propose  principally  to  notice.  We  shall  find 
in  them  the  characteristic  art  of  Japan  in  miniature, 
with  all  the  care,  the  simplicity,  and  idealisation  which 
distinguish  her  other  pictorial  arts.  For  we  shall  have 
to  recognise  a pictorial  quite  as  much  as  a sculptural 
art  in  a system  which  but  a very  short  time  ago  was 
practically  unknown  amongst  us.  Certainly  so  far  as 
ivory  is  concerned  there  were  few,  if  any,  points  of 
similarity  amongst  the  sculptures  of  the  west. 

In  all  the  profusion  of  work  of  small  sculpture  in 
which  the  human  form  so  prominently  figures  there 
is  one  aspect  which  seems  to  have  no  charm  for  the 
Japanese  artist.  We  do  not  find  amongst  this  people 
that  the  nude  as  expressive  of  beauty  of  form  has 
any  attraction.  It  does  not  appeal  to  them  as  capable 
of  exciting  pleasurable  imaginative  feelings,  or  induce 
them  to  consider  the  subject  capable  of  high  artistic 
treatment.  On  the  other  hand,  nothing  is  more  re- 
markable than  the  knowledge  of  anatomy,  and  the 
power  shown  by  the  Japanese  artist  in  his  treatment 
of  such  subjects  as  wrestlers,  or  where  superhuman 
strength — in  the  case,  for  example,  of  demons — is 
pitted  against  that  of  ordinary  mortals.  All  this  is 
the  grotesque,  no  doubt,  but  he  sees  in  it  capabilities 
of  the  exercise  of  imaginative  faculties,  where  in  the 
nude,  as  expressive  of  the  beautiful,  he  has  not  been 
drawn  towards  our  system  of  idealisation. 


u 


\ 


4 


I 

( 


CHINA  AND  JAPAN 

The  use  of  ivory  in  sculpture,  to  which  it  is  proposed 
to  direct  attention  almost  exclusively,  may  be  divided 
into  three  classes.  First,  where  the  material  is  employed 
alone,  as  in  the  case  of  the  miniature  figures,  or  groups, 
called  netsukds,  and  the  somewhat  larger  figures  of  a 
similar  character  which,  in  many  cases,  are  hardly 
statuettes.  Next  we  may  take  the  variety  of  boxes  of 
different  kinds,  but  more  especially  those  peculiar  to 
Japan  known  as  inros  or  medicine-cases,  the  sword- 
hilts  and  scabbards,  the  pipe-cases,  and  other  small 
objects  of  personal  use  or  adornment  in  which  ivory  is 
used  without  addition  of  any  other  material.  Lastly, 
there  is  the  mixture  of  materials  for  decorative  effect, 
the  application  of  ivory  to  heighten  and  complete  the 
pictorial  composition  in  conjunction  with  wood,  lacquer, 
and  other  materials ; and,  again,  the  inlay  or  setting  in 
ivory  of  other  precious  materials,  as,  for  example,  gold 
and  silver,  coral,  and  mother-of-pearl.  It  would  be 
difficult  to  find  precise  analogies,  in  western  work,  of 
any  age,  for  this  practice.  It  will  be  seen  in  a sub- 
sequent chapter  that  the  fashion  of  combining  in 
sculpture  ivory  with  other  materials  is  again  becoming 
usual,  but  this  is  more  a following  of  the  ancient  chrys- 
elephantine system,  which  does  not  appear  to  have  been 
practised  by  the  Japanese.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
modern  fashion,  for  which  such  artists  as  Lalique  are 
famous,  now  being  taken  up  extensively  by  goldsmiths 
and  jewellers  everywhere,  of  using  ivory  and  further 
adorning  it  with  enamel  and  precious  metals  is,  it  can 
scarcely  be  doubted,  a following  of  Japanese  taste  and 
ideas. 

Apart  from  the  merit  of  the  design,  apart  from 
the  intrinsic  value  of  the  material,  a notable  feature 
in  Japanese  workmanship  is  the  conscientious  and 
scrupulous  manner  in  which  every  part  is  carried  out. 
Has  the  workman  to  construct  a small  cabinet,  a box,  a 
piece  of  furniture  ? He  does  not,  as  with  us,  spend  all 

343 


IVORIES 


his  energy  in  decorating  those  parts  only  which  are 
sure  at  once  to  be  seen,  leaving  those  which  may  be 
turned  to  the  wall — the  under  parts  or  the  interiors  of 
drawers — rough  and  unfinished.  On  the  contrary,  every 
detail  is  faithfully  carried  out,  and  the  artist  even  seems 
to  take  a pleasure  in  surprising  us  by  carefully  perfecting 
and  elaborately  ornamenting  his  work  where  we  should 
least  expect  to  find  such  labour  bestowed.  Examine 
the  little  medicine  or  sweetmeat  boxes,  with  their 
numerous  drawers  and  divisions.  See  how  perfectly 
each  part  is  fitted  together.  Back  and  front,  inside  and 
outside,  even  the  backs  of  the  tiny  drawers,  receive  their 
full  share  of  the  skill  of  designer  and  workman. 

The  name  of  “ netsukd  ” was  given  to  a kind  of  toggle 
used  as  a button  to  secure  the  cords  attaching  the  pipe, 
medicine,  or  sweetmeat  case,  or  writing  materials  to  the 
belt.  We  distinguish  them  from  other  little  carvings 
when  we  find  the  two  holes  for  the  cord  to  pass  through. 

There  are  few  things  within  the  whole  range  of 
Japanese  art  which  witness  in  so  high  a degree,  within 
.so  small  a compass,  to  the  originality  and  purity  of  taste 
which  distinguish  these  wonderful  workmen.  Each  little 
group,  with  its  studied  physiognomies,  its  scrupulous 
reproductions  of  national  costume  (in  those  days  when 
the  national  costume  was  universal),  is  a complete  com- 
position, telling  a complete  story.  Sometimes  it  is  an 
historical  scene,  sometimes  a mythological  or  symbolical 
subject,  at  other  times  an  illustration  of  domestic  man- 
ners, a bitter  caricature  attacking  social  vices,  or  even 
the  national  religion.  Everywhere  there  is  the  character- 
istic charm  of  Japan,  and  in  no  subjects  more  so  than  in 
the  groups  of  laughing  and  playing  children.  As  in 
the  decoration  of  the  sweetmeat-cases,  it  is  the  quaint 
conceit,  the  humour,  the  unexpected  revelation  which 
the  artist  prepares  for  us  which  so  take  our  fancy.  He 
has  nearly  always  some  surprise  in  store  for  us.  It  is 
impossible  to  avoid  a kind  of  childish  delight  when  one 
344 


NK/r.-UKl'iS 

//„•  Cnln'ctioii  o/'  Mr.  II.  Seymour  Trower) 


FLATK  LXXn 


CHINA  AND  JAPAN 

takes  up  and  examines  one  of  these  little  objects.  See, 
even  the  under  part  is  not  forgotten,  but  carefully  made 
use  of!  And  look,  why,  there  is  another  head  of  a 
laughing  boy  within  this  laughing  mask ! And  how 
well  every  part  of  the  work  fits  ; there  is  no  fear  of  its 
coming  unglued  I 

It  cannot  be  supposed  that  everyone  will  have  that 
knowledge  of  Japanese  history  and  folk-lore  which  will 
enable  him  to  understand  all  the  allusions  which  these 
little  carvings  contain;  but  in  so  many  of  them  the  story 
is  apparent  and  requires  no  explanatory  text.  They  are 
the  epitome  of  the  history  and  feeling  of  the  whole  of 
Japan,  her  people,  her  arts  and  sciences,  her  passions, 
her  virtues  and  vices,  her  likes  and  dislikes ; the  occu- 
pations of  all,  from  the  noble  to  the  peasant,  the  fauna 
and  flora  of  the  country,  the  religion,  the  wonderful 
insight  into  the  habits  and  peculiarities  of  animal  life, 
examples  of  the  love  amongst  all  nations  of  the  use  of 
fables  and  the  attribution  of  human  characteristics  to  the 
brute  creation — in  short,  the  list  might  be  almost  indefi- 
nitely extended.  Yet  there  is  seldom  anything  expressed 
in  a commonplace  manner.  Realistic  as  they  may  be, 
they  are  rarely  wholly  divested  of  that  subtle  quality 
which  distinguishes  the  best  art,  that  is,  the  abstract 
expression  of  an  ideal. 

As  before  remarked,  the  fashion  of  carved  netsukes 
is  of  no  very  ancient  origin.  Perhaps  even  the  custom 
of  carrying  the  pipe-cases  and  other  small  articles  at 
the  girdle  did  not  come  in  before  about  the  end  of  the 
seventeenth  century,  at  which  period  we  date  the  oldest 
and  finest  examples.  The  earliest  and  best  of  all  are, 
in  the  opinion  of  many  connoisseurs,  the  wooden  ones. 
That  may  be  so,  and  of  course  there  is  a greater  ease  in 
working  in  this  material,  which  yields  more  freely  to 
the  sculptor’s  tool.  But  ivory  has  its  peculiarities  and 
a charm  of  its  own  in  the  expression  of  curves  and  in 
modelling  texture  that  such  artists  as  the  Japanese 

345 


IVORIES 

would  be  quick  to  avail  themselves  of  and  to  appreciate. 
Certainly  there  are  considerations  which  ought — other 
things  being  equal — rather  to  make  us  prefer  them  to 
those  in  wood.  At  any  rate,  the  caution  may  be  given 
to  avoid  following  a fashion  which  after  all  is  sometimes 
scarcely  more  than  a shibboleth. 

Before  the  great  revolution  of  1868  the  nobles,  as 
with  us  in  early  days,  were  the  great  employers  of 
labour  and  patrons  of  the  arts,  or  rather,  the  wealthy 
daimios  had  permanently  attached  to  their  houses  many 
of  the  most  distinguished  artists.  Amongst  our  ivory 
netsukes  some  of  the  finest  examples  bear  the  signatures 
of  the  greatest  of  these  artists,  and,  as  with  painters,  it 
is  not  difficult  to  recognise  their  styles.  But  certain 
pieces  and  certain  subjects  were,  after  a time,  extensively 
copied.  More  than  this,  there  can  be  little  doubt  that, 
especially  from  about  the  end  of  the  eighteenth  century, 
when  the  fashion  was  at  its  height,  and  when,  as  a matter 
of  fact,  ivory  netsukes  first  came  into  general  use,  the 
carving  of  these  objects  was  largely  taken  up  in  an 
amateur  way.  Much  of  it  may  have  been  done  as  an 
occupation  for  spare  time  by  all  classes  of  the  people — j 
as  a thing  to  whittle,  as  one  may  say,  in  idle  moments 
— and  the  rich  would  have  had  their  ideas  and  designs 
carried  out  for  them.  In  the  earlier  days,  and  for  the 
best  work,  the  sculptor  of  netsukes  was  a profession  by 
itself,  and  was  confined  to  and  continued  in  certain 
families.  The  fashion  seems  to  have  reached  its  greatest  1 
height  in  about  the  last  thirty  or  forty  years  of  the  ; 
eighteenth  century.  A great  luxury  in  dress  and  orna-  i 
ment  then  prevailed,  added  to  which  the  practice  of  j 
tobacco  smoking,  the  habit  of  carrying  little  medicine-  | 
cases  or  sweetmeat-cases,  and  the  use  of  ivory  carving  1 
in  various  other  ways,  caused  the  demand  for,  and  I 
popularity  of,  objects  of  this  description.  Netsukes 
were,  of  course,  made  in  other  materials — in  gold,  and 
silver,  and  bronze,  in  lacquer,  coral,  crystal,  amber, 

346 


NKTRUKER 

< J''roni  the  Collection  of  Jlln.  II.  .Seymour  Troxver) 


CHINA  AND  JAPAN 

porcelain,  and  so  on  ; but  the  favourite  and,  to  use  a 
common  expression,  the  most  correct,  were  in  ivory 
and  wood,  and  during  the  best  period  when  they  were 
in  vogue  these  were  the  monopoly  of  a certain  category 
of  artists  which  counted  in  its  ranks  the  most  famous 
masters,  the  greatest  of  whom  would  not  disdain  to 
acknowledge  by  his  signature  these  little  chefs-d' ccuvre. 
The  earliest  ivory  netsuk(^s  are  of  Siberian  mammoth 
ivory.  Nowadays  the  supply  of  ivory  is  from  London. 

That  the  netsukes  and  other  little  sculptures  of  the 
kind  were  highly  prized  is  evident  from  the  care  taken 
to  use  for  them  only  the  finest  description  of  ivory.  It 
was  in  any  case  by  no  means  a common  or  inexpensive 
material,  but  it  is  easy  to  see,  in  the  best  examples,  that 
the  artist  well  knew  the  value  of  the  best  part  of  the 
tusk,  was  not  unmindful  of  the  grain,  and  appreciated 
the  warmth  of  colour  of  the  satiny  skin  to  which  time 
and  use  would  add  fresh  charm. 

In  a certain  way,  though  on  a smaller  scale,  the 
netsukd  may  be  compared  to  the  Tanagra  statuettes. 
They  would  have  served  the  same  purpose  as  running 
commentaries  on  daily  life  and  habits,  there  is  the  same 
strict  adherence  to  truth,  the  same  lifelike  reproduction 
of  expression  and  suggested  movement.  And,  again, 
not  strictly  perhaps,  but  on  parallel  lines,  may  not  the 
gargoyles  and  misereres  of  our  mediaeval  churches  be 
recalled?  In  a sense  they  are  less  sculptures  than 
pictures,  but  they  are  pictures  which  can  be  seen  from 
every  point  of  view.  Sometimes  they  may  appear,  at 
first  sight,  to  be  little  more  than  clever  imitations  of 
some  natural  object — a shell,  a fruit,  a nut — so  close  is 
the  resemblance  that  we  are,  for  the  moment,  deceived  ; 
but  still  there  is  generally  something  which  distinguishes 
them  from  commonplace  imitation.  The  absolute  fidelity 
to  nature  is  apparent  only. 

So  great  is  the  variety  of  subject  and  the  method  of 
expressing  it,  in  these  astonishing  little  netsukes,  that 

347 


IVORIES 

the  only  way  in  which  to  attempt  to  give  even  an  im- 
perfect idea  of  the  extent  of  ground  which  they  cover 
must  involve  something  in  the  nature  of  a catalogue. 
It  may  be  as  well  to  admit  this,  and,  at  the  risk  of 
tedium,  to  adopt  it  as  a plan. 

With  the  mind  full  of  the  impression  produced  by 
an  inspection  of  such  a collection  as  that  in  the  British 
Museum,  and  with  the  recollection  of  many  others — 
turning  over,  as  it  were,  the  leaves  of  a book — we  find 
that  the  Japanese  artist  has,  as  a rule,  seized  upon  the 
most  homely  and  familiar  subjects — things  that  are  seen 
every  day  in  the  streets,  in  the  fields — that  are  known 
to  children  of  every  age  from  the  legends  and  fairy  tales 
which  are  the  property  of  no  one  country.  Here  we 
have  the  ancient  system  of  mythology,  gods  and  holy 
personages,  distinguishable  by  their  emblems  or  occu- 
pations: Fuzin,  god  of  the  winds,  with  long  white  beard 
and  eyebrows,  filling  his  sack  with  tempests;  the  divine 
personifications  of  Buddha;  the  goddess  of  the  arts 
with  a sort  of  four-stringed  zither;  ministers  and  emblems 
of  the  Shintu  religion.  Or  there  is  a group  of  five  blind 
men  crawling  on  their  hands  and  knees,  an  illustration 
of  the  story  of  the  five  blind  travellers  who,  finding  them- 
selves at  the  ford  of  a stream,  to  avoid  all  getting  wet, 
arrange  that  two  shall  carry  the  others  over  on  their 
backs.  Some  wags  passing  by  upset  the  arrangement 
by  being  carried  over  themselves.  Hence,  on  arriving 
eventually  on  the  other  side,  there  is  an  altercation 
between  the  five  blind  men.  Then  we  have  a familiar 
street  scene  in  times  not  long  gone  by : a nude  woman 
squatted  by  a bucket  washing  herself  with  a towel.  And, 
again,  the  religious  mendicant — an  ascetic  figure  seated 
on  the  ground  hideous  in  his  rags,  holding  in  one  hand 
a rod  tipped  with  a tuft  of  paper  ribbons,  the  Shinto 
emblem  of  purity;  a skeleton  half  sitting,  half  reclining, 
his  fleshless  skull  resting  on  a fleshless  hand  as  he  appears 
to  consider  meditatively  a serpent  coiled  up  under  a lotus 
348 


/V.A  TE  LXX\ 'in  NKTSUKES 

{In  the  Jlr/tis/i  J//fscn?u) 


CHINA  AND  JAPAN 

leaf;  a group — more  correctly,  perhaps,  an  agglomeration 
— of  apes  gibing  and  grimacing  at  each  other;  a rat  trying 
to  get  out  of  a sack  full  of  rice,  caught  by  the  middle  of 
the  body  by  a piece  of  the  sack  not  quite  bitten  through ; 
two  chickens  having  a dispute  about  a worm  in  a fashion 
not  peculiar  to  Japan;  a figure  tying  up  a sack,  with 
an  admirably  expressed  difficulty  of  so  doing ; a child 
frightening  another  by  means  of  a large  mask;  athletes 
lifting  weights;  a street  row;  a mass  of  people  struggling 
together  as  in  a football  scrimmage ; a figure  with  an 
immense  yawn  ; a group  of  merry  children  at  play — 
repeated  over  and  over  again  with  endless  variety ; a 
story-teller,  his  audience  convulsed  with  laughter;  people 
taking  shelter  under  a group  of  trees;  a working  bullock 
lying  down  (a  very  favourite  subject,  with  a delicate 
lining  and  filling  in  with  black);  men  with  outrageously 
long  arms  and  short  legs,  and  vice  versa — the  catalogue 
is  endless  of  delightful  exaggerations,  of  ridiculous  cari- 
cature, of  the  expression  of  laughter,  of  sorrow,  of  all 
the  emotions  which  affect  mankind,  of  satire  and  of  the 
instinctive  atheism  and  real  contempt  for  religion  which  is 
in  the  Japanese,  notwithstanding  his  deities  and  demons, 
and  the  paraphernalia  of  Shintuism;  of  fantastical  animals 
and  astonishing  hybrids  and  nightmares;  of  wonderfully 
realistic  representations  of  floral  and  vegetable  life;  of  the 
most  extraordinary  insight  into  the  habits  and  charac- 
teristics of  animals — in  short,  the  subjects  are  infinite 
in  variety  and  originality  of  conception. 

Yet  a little  more  space  must  be  devoted  to  two  or 
three  among  the  most  striking  of  the  netsukes.  Could 
anything  in  sculptural  art  of  greater  pretension  exceed 
a little  figure  representing  some  ancient  ascetic  person- 
age of  the  fakir  type,  emaciated  and  worn  out  by  fasting 
and  austerities,  his  parchment  face,  his  bones  covered 
with  contracted  and  withered  skin,  the  expression  of 
vacant  stupidity,  and  the  slobbering  of  his  senile  mouth? 
Or,  again,  in  the  contrary  spirit,  the  joyous  little  troop 

349 


IVORIES 


of  children — ^jumping,  dancing,  and  playing  the  fool — 
such  Japanese  children  with  their  little  twinkling  eyes 
and  dimpled  cheeks,  their  partly  shaven  heads  with  jet- 
black  locks  plastered  down  over  the  foreheads  and 
temples  ; or,  once  more,  a little  girl  attacked  by  a fowl, 
and  the  expression  which  shows  her  as  more  under  a 
spell  of  fascination  than  of  fright  ? Such  things  as 
these  are  meant  to  be  handled  and  handed  round  to  be 
admired,  not  huddled  pell-mell  in  a cabinet  together 
with  hundreds  of  others,  where  the  eye  becomes  dazed 
and  weary,  with  the  result  that  they  are  often  carelessly 
passed  by  after  a moment’s  hasty  survey. 

The  medicine-cases  or  sweetmeat-boxes  are  scarcely 
less  interesting  or  less  various  and  charming  in  their 
decorative  conception.  Whether  of  metal  or  wood,  of 
ivory  or  of  lacquer,  or  of  an  extraordinarily  accurate 
imitation  in  lacquer  of  other  things,  such  as  leather, 
plaited  straw,  or  the  bark  of  wood  ; made  of  one  of  these 
materials  alone,  or  of  several  combined,  they  are  usually 
of  the  same  form  and  of  about  the  same  size  ; that  is  to 
say,  a number  of  separate  little  divisions  having,  when 
closed,  a flattened  elliptical  shape  with  a silk  cord  to 
confine  them  together.  A netsukc  on  the  cord  accom- 
panies them.  The  carving  is  generally  in  low  relief, 
and  sunk  so  as  to  avoid  discomfort  in  handling.  They 
are  not  always  plain,  but  are  often  encrusted  with  coral, 
mother-of-pearl,  lacquer,  tortoise-shell,  gold  and  silver, 
incorporated  in  the  design. 

It  is  this  system  of  working  together  different 
materials,  even  the  most  opposite  metals,  which  is  so 
distinctively  Japanese.  To  follow  it  in  detail  would  far 
exceed  our  limits.  So  far  as  ivory  is  concerned,  a brief 
mention  must  suffice,  and  include  the  panels  and  screens 
in  lacquer  and  wood  and  the  smaller  objects  such  as  the 
cases  for  holding  the  colour  and  implements  which  the 
Japanese  use  in  writing.  The  lavish  perfection  of  the 
work  is  extraordinary,  the  theme  of  the  subject  running 
350 


CHINA  AND  JAPAN 

over  the  whole  surface,  following  the  curves  and  con- 
tinuing from  front  to  back,  heightened  with  all  sorts  of 
effects  in  relief,  or  by  inlay  and  the  use  of  precious  and 
semi-precious  materials.  And  yet  in  good  work  all  this 
is  carried  out  with  a quiet  purpose,  which  is  far  from 
suggesting  vulgarity.  Most  people  are  familiar  with 
these  things  and  the  manner  in  which  ivory  is  used  for 
the  faces,  hands,  and  feet  of  the  figures,  or  it  may  be 
for  a gorgeous  flower,  a chrysanthemum  or  a peony, 
naturalistically  treated  and  delicately  stained. 

It  is  true  that  the  practice  of  combining  different 
materials  is  not  confined  to  Japan.  We  have  seen  it, 
for  instance,  in  the  German  beggar  figures.  But  the 
Japanese  method  is  entirely  original.  It  might  almost 
be  said  that  no  other  nation  would  have  the  power  to 
carry  it  out  except,  perhaps,  the  Chinese,  and  in  their 
case  for  the  mechanical  part  only.  It  is  not  of  the  chrys- 
elephantine kind,  nor  do  we  find  in  Japanese  art  the 
combination  of  ivory  with  metal  and  goldsmith’s  work 
on  a large  scale,  which  will  be  noticed  in  a succeeding 
chapter  on  the  revival  of  ivory  sculpture  in  Europe  in 
the  present  century.  It  cannot  be  pretended  for  a 
moment  that  all  work  of  this  kind  is  in  the  best  possible 
taste  or  free  from  vulgarity.  Many  of  the  pretentious 
and  expensive  importations  with  which  the  Japanese 
shops  in  every  great  city  are  loaded  are  open  to  objec- 
tion. But  it  is  not  the  Japanese  artist  who  is  primarily 
to  blame.  It  is  his  European  master  in  Paris,  Vienna, 
or  London,  and  the  taste  which  he  imagines  himself 
called  upon  to  satisfy.  These  are  not  the  things  that 
the  Japanese  noble  of  to-day  buys  back  again  to  return 
to  his  country,  as  he  does  the  netsuk^s  and  lacquers 
that  the  events  of  1868  caused  to  leave  it.  People  are 
indeed  fortunate  who  acquired  examples  at  that  time, 
for  they  are  not  now  to  be  had.  A word  of  warning 
will  not  be  misplaced  with  regard  to  the  frightful  imita- 
tions of  netsukes  and  other  figurines  in  ivory  which  are 

351 


IVORIES 

so  common,  often  artificially  made  to  look  yellow  and 
worn,  as  if  of  considerable  antiquity. 

Netsukes  are  frequently  signed,  and  amongst  their 
makers  may,  no  doubt,  be  reckoned  the  most  famous 
artists  known  in  Japan,  but  for  the  most  part  little  is 
known  concerning  these  except  their  names.  They  are 
seldom,  if  ever,  dated.  In  the  nineteenth  century  designs 
of  celebrated  artists  of  painting,  such  as  Hokusai,  were 
frequently  copied.  Grotesque  ivory  figures  of  Chinese 
origin,  which  may  be  considered  the  prototypes  of  the 
netsuke,  appeared  in  Japan  about  the  end  of  the  seven- 
teenth century.  All  information  is,  however,  very  vague, 
although  figures  of  this  kind,  which  are  said  to  be  old 
Chinese  work,  turn  up  in  Japan  from  time  to  time. 

The  earliest  ivory  netsukes  date  from  the  middle,  or 
even,  perhaps,  not  till  the  end  of  the  eighteenth  century. 
They  continued  to  increase  in  excellence  until  the  de- 
mands of  the  European  market  exercised  an  influence 
which,  as  may  be  supposed,  caused  a considerable  quantity 
of  spurious  and  worthless  imitations  to  be  exported.  The 
events  of  1868,  however,  happily  brought  to  Europe  a 
large  number  of  the  best  specimens.  The  Franks 
collection  of  the  British  Museum,  and  those  of  Mr. 
Gilbertson  and  Mr.  Seymour  Trower,  are  amongst  the 
most  famous  of  the  present  day. 

In  the  earliest  examples  we  find  walrus  ivory  fre- 
quently employed.  There  are  specimens  carved  from 
boars’  tusks,  and  vegetable  ivory  {corozo  nut)  was  also 
used.  Some  are  a combination  of  wood  and  ivory, 
and  the  staining  of  ivory  was  brought  to  great  per- 
fection in  Japan.  We  have  amongst  them,  also,  some 
remarkable  tours  de  force.  The  most  extraordinary 
of  these  are  the  skulls  and  skeletons  for  which  Asahi 
Giokusan  (nineteenth  century)  was  famous.  There  is  a 
small  skull  by  him  in  the  Trower  collection,  the  fidelity 
of  which,  on  a minute  scale,  is  so  perfect  that  on  seeing 
it  a well-known  surgeon  declared  that  it  would  suffice 
352 


CHINA  AND  JAPAN 

to  illustrate  a lecture.  The  brain-pan  opens,  and  within 
every  detail  is  absolutely  correct.  Another,  in  the  Gilbert- 
son collection,  is  an  absolute  facsimile  on  a reduced  scale 
of  a skull  which  has  long  been  buried,  and  is  partly  de- 
cayed and  eaten  away.  Such  things,  if  not  pure  works 
of  art,  are,  at  any  rate,  marvellous  curiosities. 

A favourite  subject  is  a chestnut  in  wood  or  stained 
ivory  with  perhaps  a maggot  crawling  out  from  a hole 
in  it.  It  may  be  said  that  work  of  this  kind,  like  the 
faithful  imitation  in  sculpture  of  lacework,  shows  only 
the  skill  of  a clever  mechanic.  That  is  so,  as  a rule, 
but  there  is  often  a peculiar  charm  about  Japanese 
imitations.  They  are  not  such  a downright  copy  of 
nature  as  may  appear  at  first  sight,  and  it  is  con- 
summate art  when  the  seeming  fidelity  is  thus  put 
before  us.  Amongst  other  little  tricks  which  we  find 
are  those  in  which  the  netsuk^  is  so  designed  that  it  is 
extremely  difficult  to  balance  it  on  the  feet  of  the  tiny 
figures  when  standing  upright,  on  account  of  the  centre 
of  gravity  being  purposely  placed  very  high.  For 
instance,  a man  holding  up  an  enormously  long  gourd 
with  a bulbous  end,  or  a horse  with  his  four  hoofs  all 
brought  together. 

For  other  ivory  sculpture — inros,  pipe-cases,  shrines, 
and  small  objects  of  various  kinds — the  earliest  speci- 
mens date  from  quite  the  end  of  the  eighteenth  century, 
and  the  finest  examples  of  the  little  figurines  and  groups 
called  okimono,  which  are  something  like  netsuk^s,  are 
quite  modern.  The  same  may  be  said  of  screens  inlaid 
with  ivory.  There  are,  besides,  wonderful  figures  of 
larger  size,  representing  usually  various  Japanese  popu- 
lar types,  to  which  it  is  impossible  not  to  accord  a high 
measure  of  admiration.  The  most  famous  artists  for 
these  of  the  present  day  are  Asahi-Hatsu,  Uttagawa, 
Okawa,  and  Kuorin.  A fine  figure  of  the  Buddhist 
goddess  Kwannon,  perhaps  the  largest  ever  made  in 
ivory  by  Ichikawa  Komei,  was  exhibited  at  the  Chicago 

2 A 353 


IVORIES 

Exhibition.  It  shows,  however,  the  necessary  outcome 
of  the  passion  for  European  schools  which  followed 
upon  the  revolution.  Before  the  fashion  of  sword- 
wearing  went  out  with  the  daimios — and  it  may  be 
said,  also,  since  that  time  to  the  present  day — scabbards 
were  made  of  elaborately  carved  ivory,  but  they  are  not 
esteemed  and  are  hardly  worth  mention. 

As  so  many  netsukds  are  signed,  and  as  it  is  not  a 
difficult  matter  to  get  them  deciphered,  it  may  be  useful 
to  add  a few  of  the  best-known  names  and  the  kinds 
for  which  some  artists  were  especially  distinguished. 
In  ivory  in  the  eighteenth  century  there  were  Hide- 
masa,  Ki-sui,  Giokumin,  Hakuunsai,  Tomochika  (Long- 
legs  and  Shortlegs),  Toyo  (groups  of  masks),  Shigemasa, 
Hiroyuki,  Hogioku,  Ikosai,  Minkoko  (wild  boars), 
Minzan,  Mitsuhiro,  Mitsotomo,  Okatomo,  Tomotada 
(working  bullock  lying  down),  and  the  Miwas,  the  most 
celebrated  of  all  netsuke  makers.  It  is  said  that  five 
or  six  examples  of  the  first  Miwa  exist.  Besides  these 
we  have  Ichimin  (cattle),  Tomochika,  Anrakousai  (holy 
personages),  Riumin,  Hogitsu  (children),  Hozan  (chil- 
dren), Giokusan  (skulls),  Mune-tomo  (monkeys),  Ikkouan 
(rats),  Hukwan  (small  figures),  Kajitomo  (mushrooms), 
Shiusen,  Mazakadzu  (monkeys,  rats,  and  tours  de  force), 
Okatomo  (quails),  Giokusai  (shells),  Masafousa,  and 
Riukei  (wood  and  ivory  conjoined).  Although  the  most 
esteemed  artists  in  wood  seldom  or  never  worked  in 
ivory,  their  productions  were  frequently  copied.  There 
were  the  Miwas,  Dem6-Uman  (masks),  Tadatoshi 
(snails),  Giokumin  (tortoises),  Kokei  (frogs  and  goats), 
Masanao  (fowls  and  rats),  Masatami  (rabbits),  Tame- 
taka  (snakes),  Sokwa-Heishiro  (flowers  and  grasses), 
Nobuyuki  (groups).  Miwa  and  Shibaiyama  first  inlaid 
ivory  in  wood  about  i8io.  Riukei  made  pipe-cases, 
and  was  the  first  to  stain  ivory. 


354 


CHAPTER  XVII 


FURNITURE,  MUSICAL  INSTRUMENTS,  ARMS  AND 
SPORTING  WEAPONS,  AND  OTHER  ACCESSORIES 
OF  THE  FIELD  AND  CHASE 

VIDENCE  is  not  wanting  of  the  magnificence 


of  the  furniture  used  in  the  decorations  of  the 


' palaces  and  houses  of  the  wealthy  amongst  all 
the  earliest  nations  of  antiquity.  In  Assyria  and  Egypt, 
in  Greece,  and  in  Imperial  Rome  the  most  luxurious 
habits  prevailed,  not  only  in  the  fashion  and  ornament 
of  tables,  chairs,  and  couches,  but  also  in  the  inlay  of 
the  panelling  of  walls,  ceilings,  and  doors  with  ivory 
and  stained  and  painted  woods.  In  the  British  Museum 
are  six  ancient  Egyptian  chairs  of  wood  inlaid  with 
collars  and  dies  of  ivory.  One  is  of  ebony. 

There  are  few  purposes  for  which  the  use  of  ivory 
has  been  more  constant  and  more  varied,  and  at  the 
same  time  perhaps  more  overlooked  in  general  estima- 
tion than  that  which  relates  to  its  employment  in  con- 
junction with  other  materials.  So  far  as  furniture  is 
concerned,  this  implies,  of  course,  with  wood,  either 
by  means  of  inlaying,  or  where  the  whole  surface  is 
covered  with  solid  pieces  and  veneers  of  ivory.  The 
subject  is  an  extremely  interesting  one,  which  deserves 
more  consideration  than  it  has  hitherto  received.  To 
enter  fully  into  it  in  any  detailed  manner  is  more,  how- 
ever, the  province  of  a history  of  furniture.  For  our 
present  purpose  it  will  be  sufficient  to  confine  our 


355 


IVORIES 

attention  to  a few  brief  remarks  on  two  varieties,  that 
is  to  say,  upon  the  system  of  marquetry  which  was  first 
introduced  into  Italy  by  the  Venetians,  and  has  become 
known  under  the  name  of  Certosina  work;  and  secondly, 
where  ivory  is  used  alone,  as  in  the  case  of  one  or  two 
suites  of  furniture,  of  which  we  possess  some  very  fine 
examples. 

The  absolute  origin  of  the  simplest  form  of  this 
elegant  surface  decoration,  which  consists  solely  of 
geometrical  patterns  and  of  arrangements  of  stars  and 
circles,  may  be  a little  uncertain  ; but,  generally  speak- 
ing, it  is,  of  course,  oriental.  The  Venetians  in  the 
middle  ages  carried  on  a considerable  traffic  with  the 
east,  importing  large  quantities  of  ivories,  ebony, 
cypress,  and  walnut,  and  other  woods,  and  they,  no 
doubt,  introduced  the  system  from  Persia  and  India. 
We  have  already  noticed  a like  fashion  in  essentials  in 
the  case  of  Arabian  marquetry,  and  even  the  Bombay 
work,  which  is  still  imported,  is  practically  of  the  same 
nature.  At  a later  period  than  its  introduction  into 
Italy  the  Portuguese,  through  their  relations  with  their 
colony  of  Goa,  still  further  contributed  to  popularise  a 
similar  method,  and  to  flood  the  European  market  with 
inlaid  furniture,  either  imported  or  made  in  Portugal. 
In  Spain  also  the  Moors  had  undoubtedly  introduced 
many  methods  of  oriental  decoration,  in  which  the 
system  of  inlay  in  ivory,  mother-of-pearl,  and  other 
materials  in  arrangements  of  small  discs  and  geometric 
forms  was  employed.  Later  on  marquetry  was  exten- 
sively used  in  France,  Germany,  and  Holland,  and  we 
shall  find  the  practice  of  decorating  such  things  as  cross- 
bows, saddles,  and  sporting  weapons  and  accessories,  as 
well  as  cabinets  and  caskets,  by  means  of  ivory  plaques 
engraved  with  subjects  in  outline  and  afterwards  filled 
in  with  black,  very  largely  prevailing  throughout  Europe. 
In  England,  as  regards  furniture,  it  may  be  considered 
mainly  as  a foreign  or  imported  art  till  late  in  the  seven- 
356 


FURNITURE 

teenth  century,  when,  under  William  and  Mary,  Dutch 
marquetry  became  the  fashion,  the  older  designs  repre- 
senting tulips  and  other  flowers,  foliage,  and  birds,  and 
afterwards  more  elaborate  hunting  and  domestic  scenes. 
The  most  beautiful  is  the  Italian,  which  we  call  Certo- 
sina,  from  the  great  Charterhouse  {Certosd),  or  Car- 
thusian monastery,  between  Milan  and  Pavia,  which 
became  celebrated  for  its  encouragement  of  the  art,  and 
whence,  no  doubt,  a great  deal  of  the  fine  work  to  be 
seen  in  the  choirs  and  sacristies  of  churches  throughout 
Italy  proceeded.  The  best  examples  are  of  the  four- 
teenth and  fifteenth  centuries.  At  that  time  also,  as  we 
have  seen,  bone  was  much  used  in  a peculiar  manner 
for  diptychs,  triptychs,  coffers,  and  caskets,  and  the  mar- 
quetry work  was  employed  in  the  framing  of  retables 
and  triptychs.  A good  example  of  the  latter  has  already 
been  illustrated. 

In  its  simplest  form  certosina  work  consists  of 
geometrical  patterns  in  ivory  let  into  wood.  An  ex- 
tension of  the  system  came  into  vogue  in  Italy  about 
the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century,  in  which  we 
have  pictures  formed  by  the  use  of  different  coloured 
woods,  to  which  ivory  was  also  added.  In  this  method, 
by  means  of  altering  the  direction  of  the  grain  of  the 
wood,  the  lights  and  shades  of  drapery,  the  perspective 
of  landscapes  and  buildings,  and  the  other  elements  of 
a picture  are  expressed.  It  is  especially  characterised 
by  architectural  scenes,  in  a kind  of  mosaic  of  the 
angular  lines  of  windows  and  doors,  porticoes  and 
columns,  with  a play  of  light  and  shade  varying  with 
the  angle  from  which  they  are  observed.  In  work  of 
this  kind  advantage  is  taken  of  the  natural  tints  of 
brilliant-coloured  woods.  It  was  very  largely  used  for 
the  wainscottings  and  backs  of  choir-stalls,  for  cabinets, 
panellings,  chests,  and  wardrobes,  and  is  more  properly 
termed  tarsia  or  intarsiahiva.  The  practice  continued, 
and  is  seen  at  its  best  in  the  wonderful  French  works 


357 


IVORIES 

of  such  great  cabinet-makers  as  Riesener  and  David, 
in  the  eighteenth  century.  These  are  mostly  limited  to 
wood  marquetry  alone,  but  ivory  is  sometimes  used  to 
a small  extent.  For  this  reason  also  a passing  allusion 
may  be  made  to  the  well-known  marquetry  of  Boule,  a 
combination  of  brass,  copper,  and  tortoise-shell,  into 
which  stained  ivory  also  sometimes  enters. 

There  are  few  things  of  their  kind  which  for  simple 
beauty  and  harmony  exceed  an  Italian  chest  in  which 
the  decoration  is  confined  to  the  geometrical  designs  in 
ivory,  with  ebony  mouldings,  mounted  on  an  ebony 
stand  with  twisted  legs.  Time  has  perhaps  softened 
down  the  brilliant  whiteness  of  the  ivory  to  the  mellow  ! 
and  indescribable  tone  which  it  acquires  under  certain 
conditions,  and  ages  of  careful  polishing  and  waxing  of  j 
the  whole  surface  have  imparted  to  the  wood  that  quality  | 
which  is  so  much  esteemed.  But  the  chief  characteristic 
is  the  charm  of  the  irregularity  of  the  surface,  and  the 
greater  aesthetic  pleasure  which  is  always  derived  from 
a not  too  strict  adherence  to  absolutely  correct  and  formal 
straight  lines  either  in  the  design  or  in  the  execution. 
Such  a studied  carelessness  is  typical  of  the  oriental 
artist.  Whereas  in  western  work,  as  a rule,  every  line 
or  curve  is  drawn  with  mathematical  precision,  the  sur- 
face is  planed  and  sandpapered  down  to  the  utmost 
smoothness,  and  made  accurately  level,  the  ivory  gleams 
white  and  cold,  and  the  effect  of  the  whole  is  lifeless  and 
mechanical. 

Ivory  has  also  been  largely  used  in  all  times  for  the 
inlay  of  panels,  furniture,  and  smaller  things,  in  a manner 
in  which  it  is  less  perhaps  the  principal  object  than  a 
medium  for  fulfilling  scarcely  more  than  the  office  of 
paper,  or  of  providing  a white  background  on  which 
designs  are  lightly  engraved,  and  filled  in  with  some 
black  substance,  as  in  niello  work.*  Some  ancient 

In  this  connection  some  reference  may  be  permitted  to  the  encaustic 
or  burning-in  method  of  painting  of  which  Sir  Charles  Eastlake  speaks  in  his 

358 


FURNITURE 

examples  from  the  Scythian  tombs  of  the  Crimea,  and 
others  in  the  British  Museum  of  this  nature  have  already 
been  noticed.  The  same  system  is  carried  out  in  much 
Dutch  and  Italian  furniture,  and  we  shall  presently  find 
it  again  applied  in  the  decoration  of  musical  instruments, 
arms,  and  sporting  weapons.  A fine  Italian  couch,  and 
some  chairs  of  Italian  early  seventeenth-century  work, 
are  in  the  Jones  collection  in  the  Kensington  Museum. 
They  are  of  ebony,  inlaid  with  ivory,  engraved  with 
floral  scrolls.  Portions  of  the  ebony  framings  are  not 
in  the  best  style,  but  the  ivory  inlay  is  very  good  in 
design  and  execution. 

For  furniture  entirely  of  ivory  it  would  be  difficult 
to  surpass  the  suite  of  which  there  are  a table  and  two 
chairs  also  in  the  Jones  collection.  F'^urniture  of  this 
kind  is  extremely  rare  in  Europe,  although  there  can  be 
little  doubt  that  it  has  been  frequently  made  in  India 
after  European  designs,  either  for  the  palaces  of  the 
governors  of  the  English,  Portuguese,  and  French  pos- 
sessions or  for  those  of  native  princes.  It  is  surprising, 
indeed,  that  such  a charming  and  delicate  style  should 
not  be  more  frequently  used.  Such  things  are  solid  and 
appropriate  in  appearance,  with  no  suggestion  of  fragility. 
They  fetch  large  prices  whenever  they  come  into  the 
market,  and  the  scarcity  or  value  of  the  material  can 
hardly,  therefore,  be  urged  against  them.  The  chairs 
and  table  which  are  here  illustrated  are  said  to  have 
belonged  to  Tippo  Sahib.  They  were,  at  any  rate,  taken 
from  him  by  Warren  Hastings  at  the  capture  of  Seringa- 

Materials  for  a History  of  Oil  Painting  (i.  149),  where  he  says  : “The  process, 
according  to  the  words  of  Pliny,  comprehended  the  engraving  by  means  of 
encaustic  of  outlines  in  ivory  and  other  substances  with  a metal  point.  In  this 
instance  the  expression  need  not  be  taken  literally : forms  burnt  on  ivory  could 
not  have  been  very  delicate  works  of  art.  It  may  rather  be  supposed  that  the 
outlines  first  drawn  on  waxed  ivory  (for  the  facility  of  correcting  them  where 
necessary)  were  afterwards  engraved  in  the  substance,  and  that  the  finished  and 
shadowed  design  was  filled  in  with  one  or  more  colours,  being  ultimately 
covered  with  a wax  varnish  by  the  aid  of  heat.  Works  so  produced  must  have 
resembled  the  sgraffiti  of  the  Italians,  and  were  no  doubt  quite  as  excellent.” 

359 


IVORIES 

patam  and  given  to  Queen  Charlotte.  They  came  later 
into  the  possession  of  the  Duke  of  Buckingham,  and 
were  sold  at  the  world-famous  sale  at  Stowe  in  1848  for 
forty-two  guineas.  For  the  table  Mr.  Jones  gave  j^350 
and  for  the  chairs  ^600.  The  decoration,  partly  gilded, 
of  leaves  and  flowers  is  evidently  of  Indian  character, 
with  a French  style  and  feeling.  A peculiarity  of 
the  chairs  is  that  each  has  five  legs.  A couch,  three 
tables,  and  four  chairs  of  the  same  suite  were  in  Lord 
Londesborough’s  collection.  There  are  also  in  the  Jones 
bequest  four  very  elegant  armchairs  of  ivory,  or  rather 
completely  covered  with  ivory  veneer.  They  are  of 
French  or  English  design  of  the  eighteenth  century, 
and  in  noticing  them  one  may  again  wonder  that  ivory 
is  not  more  often  used  at  the  present  day  for  such 
purposes.  At  Buckingham  Palace  there  is  a set  of 
two  large  couches  and  sixteen  chairs  in  ivory,  of  Indian 
workmanship  after  fine  Chippendale  designs. 

With  the  exception  of  a few  isolated  instances,  for 
example,  some  specially  designed  piano  cases,  such 
as  the  one  executed  by  Messrs.  Broadwood  for  Sir 
Lawrence  Alma-Tadema,  ivory  is  not  now  much  em-  j 
ployed  in  the  decoration  of  musical  instruments.  Time 
was  when  even  unimportant  objects  of  ordinary  use  ' 
received  a lavish  and  rich  ornamentation,  but  we  now  j 
look  more  to  utility,  and  are,  before  all  things,  practical.  | 
There  may  also  be,  of  course,  good  technical  reasons  ' 
why  musical  instruments  should  be  as  free  as  possible 
from  any  adjunct  which  might  tend  to  interfere  with 
the  primary  use  for  which  they  are  intended.  But  at  ! 
least  down  to  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century 
we  shall  find  many  examples  of  musical  instruments 
into  whose  lavish  decoration  ivory  frequently  entered 
with  considerable  effect.  From  their  nature  the  principles  ; 
upon  which  it  is  used  are  naturally  not  dilTerent  from  i 
those  which  we  have  been  just  considering  in  the  case  j 
of  furniture ; that  is  to  say,  the  ivory  is  either  inlaid,  | 
360 


n’OKV  CilAIkS 

I riciiN  rn  cil.\  ruKV 
( 'Jones  ColUciion } 


Wifr 


MUSICAL  INSTRUMENTS 

veneered,  or  applied  as  sculpture.  Most  of  the  examples 
which  we  shall  find  in  such  collections  as  the  extremely 
fine  ones  of  musical  instruments  in  the  South  Kensing- 
ton Museum,  or  at  the  Royal  College  of  Music,  consist 
of  the  inlay  of  instruments  of  the  lute  or  guitar  kind, 
of  the  type  which  was  in  use  in  most  European  countries 
in  the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth  centuries.  No  doubt 
at  all  periods  musical  instruments  have  received  similar 
treatment  in  the  way  of  decoration.  Early  examples  are 
extremely  rare,  but  we  have  one  important  instance  in 
the  magnificent  specimen  of  a harp  in  solid  iv'ory,  of 
the  fifteenth  century,  now  in  the  museum  of  the  Louvre. 
Apart  from  its  high  interest  as  an  example  of  a musical 
instrument  of  the  period,  it  is  equally  interesting  as  a 
unique  example  in  ivory  of  most  original  beauty  of 
design. 

In  general  form  this  harp  resembles  others  which 
are  known  in  wood  of  about  the  same  period.  The 
portions  remaining,  for  the  present  sounding-board  is 
a later  addition,  are  formed  of  two  separate  pieces  of 
ivory.  The  fore-pillar  is  practically  the  natural  curv’e 
of  the  tusk — in  fact,  in  oliphant  shape — springing  from 
a rectangular  block  where  it  joined,  at  its  lowest  point, 
the  sound-chest.  The  harmonic  curve,  or  transverse 
portion,  forming  the  top,  is  naturally  a separate  piece  of 
ivory  in  an  elegant  curv'e  and  counter-curve.  The  deco- 
ration is  similar  throughout,  with  the  exception  of  the 
small  rectangular  base-piece  and  of  a small  portion  at 
the  junction  of  the  upright  and  transverse  members.  It 
consists  of  four  semicircular  channels,  in  each  of  which, 
all  the  way  up,  and  again  across  to  the  sounding-board 
are  disposed,  at  regular  interv^als,  elegant  fleurs-de-lys 
of  an  elongated  form  with  wa\y  stems.  They  are  of  the 
character  which  is  met  with  in  seals  and  miniatures  of 
the  time  of  Charles  VI.  Alternating  with  these  fleurs- 
de-lys  is  the  monogram  in  gothic  characters.  The 
base  and  the  top  of  the  fore-pillar  are  encircled  by  open 

361 


IVORIES 

crowns  of  fleurs-de-lys.  Above  the  upper  crown  at  the 
top  of  the  harp  we  have,  on  either  side,  religious  subjects 
in  compartments — the  Nativity,  the  adoration  of  the 
Magi,  and  the  slaughter  of  the  Innocents — and  above 
one  of  the  compartments  is  the  inscription,  in  Flemish, 

“ EN  BETHLEAN.”  The  Sculpture  in  these  panels  recalls 
the  work  of  the  diptychs  of  the  thirteenth  and  fourteenth 
centuries,  and  is  on  an  extremely  minute  scale. 

Now,  in  endeavouring  to  trace  the  origin  and  history 
of  this  beautiful  work,  we  are  met  by  several  considera- 
tions. In  the  first  place — the  religious  subjects  apart, 
and  they  are  not  of  great  consequence,  as  they  may 
have  been  copied  from  diptychs  or  other  religious  objects 
of  an  earlier  date — it  would  be  difficult  to  find  anything 
amongst  ivory  carvings  with  which  to  compare  the  style  ‘ 
of  ornamentation.  The  channelled  grooves,  filled  in 
with  the  monograms  and  fleurs-de-lys,  recall  the  archi- 
tecture and  sculptured  monuments  of  Savoy  of  the  first 
half  of  the  fifteenth  century.  We  have  next  to  consider 
the  initial  letters  AY,  and  with  whom  they  may  be 
connected  as  the  prince  or  great  personage  for  whom 
this  piece  was  made.  Several  explanations,  more  or 
less  conjectural,  have  been  hazarded.  Certain  authorities 
have  seen  in  them  the  first  and  last  letters  of  the  device,  j 
''Attltre  naray,"  adopted  by  Philip  the  Good,  Duke  of 
Burgundy,  at  the  time  of  his  marriage  with  Isabelle  of 
Portugal  in  1430.  Others,  again,  take  them  to  be  the 
initials  of  Antoine  of  Burgundy,  Duke  of  Brabant,  | 
second  son  of  Philip  the  Hardy,  who  married,  as  his 
second  wife,  Ysabelle  of  Luxembourg,  in  1409.  He  | 
himself  was  killed  at  Agincourt  in  1415.  Of  the  two  ! 
this  would  seem  to  be  the  most  natural,  and  we  may  ' 
remember  also  that  as  a prince  of  the  House  of  Burgundy 
he  would  bear  the  fleurs-de-lys  of  France.  But  there  is 
a third  attribution  given  by  the  learned  M.  de  Champeaux 
in  an  article  on  the  subject  of  this  harp  in  the  Chronique 
des  Arts  et  de  la  Cnriositd  (No.  12,  1895).  M.  de 

362 


plate  LX.XX 


harp.  PI.EJilSH 

I'll-'TEE.\Tl|  CEN-TURY 


V. 


MUSICAL  INSTRUMENTS 

Champeaux  finds  that  the  initials  correspond  with  those 
of  Amadeus,  Count  of  Savoy,  in  the  last  half  of  the 
fifteenth  century,  and  of  his  wife  Yolande,  daughter  of 
Charles  VII.  Now,  bearing  in  mind  the  intercourse 
with  Flanders  at  this  period,  that  many  Flemish  artists 
were  attached  to  the  courts  of  the  princes  of  Savoy, 
that  the  communication  with  France  was  interrupted 
on  account  of  the  English  occupation,  that  Flemish 
models  were  much  used,  and  that  quantities  of  objects 
of  art  were  imported  or  sent  as  presents  from  Flanders, 
we  may  reasonably  come  to  the  conclusion  that  the  harp 
is  of  Franco-Flemish  origin,  dating  from  the  beginning 
of  the  fifteenth  century,  when  Antoine  de  Bourgogne 
married  Ysabelle  de  Luxembourg,  to  about  the  middle 
of  the  same  century  in  the  time  of  Amadeus  and 
Yolande  of  Savoy.  Other  opinions  are  in  favour  of 
placing  the  date  farther  back  into  quite  the  fourteenth 
century,  but  though  the  style  of  the  panels  may  recall 
the  style  of  that  period,  we  must  remember  that  fashions 
were  persisted  in,  and  were  frequently  copied.  For  the 
same  reason  we  need  not  place  any  particular  stress  on 
the  fact  that  the  costumes  of  the  soldiers  in  the  scene 
of  the  slaughter  of  the  Innocents  are  of  late  fourteenth 
century.  Still  more  important  is  it  to  compare  the 
system  of  the  fleurs-de-lys  and  the  hatched  backgrounds 
which  are  characteristic  of  a later  period,  as  we  have  seen 
in  some  diptychs  of  the  transition  period  of  the  art, 
especially  in  such  things  as  the  diptych  representing 
Louis  XL,  which  has  been  already  noticed.  We  have, 
then,  in  this  harp  a magnificent  specimen  of  ivory  carving, 
absolutely  unique  so  far  as  ivory  is  concerned,  of  con- 
siderable interest  as  a musical  instrument,  and  probably 
made  about  the  middle  of  the  fifteenth  century  by  a 
Flemish  artist  for  Amadeus  and  Yolande  of  Savoy. 

From  the  fragile  nature  of  the  material  of  which  one 
class  of  musical  instruments  is  constructed,  very  few 
indeed  of  early  date  have  come  down  to  us.  Flemish 

363 


IVORIES 

artists  were  renowned  for  their  fabrication  in  the  four- 
teenth and  fifteenth  centuries.  We  find  frequent  references 
to  harps  in  the  miniatures  of  the  period  and  in  paintings, 
for  instance  of  the  school  of  Van  Eyck.  It  would  appear 
that  harps  had  usually  twenty-five  strings,  and  we  have, 
in  fact,  in  the  Louvre  example  that  number  of  holes  for 
receiving  them  pierced  in  the  transverse  member.  Guil- 
laume de  Machaut,  in  his  Dit  de  la  harpe,  quaintly  and 
prettily  compares  these  strings  to  the  twenty-five  virtues 
which  are  possessed  by  the  lady  whom  he  honours.  He 
says : — 

“ Je  puis  tres  bien  ma  dame  comparer 
A la  harpe  et  son  gent  corps  parer 
De  XXV  cordes  que  la  harpe  ha 
Dont  rois  David  par  maintes  fois  harpa.” 

He  then  proceeds  to  enumerate  them,  assigning  to 
each  string  a special  charm  or  virtue ; and  if  the  lady 
possessed  them  all,  she  must  indeed  have  been  perfect. 

For  the  connection  in  general  of  musical  instruments 
with  ivory  it  is  hardly  necessary  to  do  more  than  refer 
to  its  use  for  the  keys  of  organs,  pianos,  and  percussion 
instruments  of  the  kind.  We  find  many  examples  in 
the  collection  at  South  Kensington  in  which  ivory  is 
used,  either  plain  or  in  conjunction  with  gold  and  silver, 
enamel,  jewels,  and  other  precious  materials.  A brief 
mention  must  suffice  to  call  attention  to  a few  amongst 
many  richly  decorated  instruments.  We  have,  for  in- 
stance, some  quite  charming  French  hurdy-gurdies  of 
the  eighteenth  century.  On  one,  which  is  elaborately 
inlaid,  the  head  of  the  finger-board  is  the  bust  of  a 
peasant  girl  in  ivory,  the  dress  of  wood,  and  the  hand- 
kerchief head-dress  coloured.  An  ivory  lute  by  the 
Venetian,  Jacob  Hesin  (1586),  was  exhibited  at  the 
Inventions  and  Music  Exhibition  in  London  in  1886, 
and  there  were  many  more  instruments,  into  which 
ivory  entered,  shown  in  that  collection,  the  most 
wonderful  that  has  ever  been  brought  together.  In 
364 


ARMS  AND  SPORTING  WEAPONS 

a theorbo  of  1629  the  whole  of  the  belly  is  composed 
of  strips  and  veneers  of  ivory  engraved  with  subjects 
filled  in  with  black.  On  a very  long  Venetian  theorbo 
the  ivory  finger-board  is  engraved  with  landscapes. 
A German  guitar,  dated  1592,  has  the  whole  surface, 
except  the  sound-board,  of  tortoise-shell  inlaid  with 
ivory  or  vice  versa,  and  a citerna  of  1539  is  of  similar 
fashion.  Cither  viols,  viole  da  gamba,  and  other  in- 
struments of  the  kind  have  also  elaborately  inlaid 
finger-boards  and  tailpieces.  And,  again,  there  are 
charming  little  pochettes,  or  kits,  of  the  seventeenth 
or  eighteenth  centuries  with  beautifully  carved  heads. 
An  eighteenth-century  German  flute  is  entirely  of  ivory, 
but  of  course  instruments  of  this  kind  in  ivory  or  bone 
must  date  back  to  unknown  ages  and  have  been  in  con- 
stant use  in  all  times.  Flageolets  and  a double  flageo- 
let are  there  also;  an  Italian  jiaiito  dolce,  dated  1740, 
with  an  elegant  design  in  low  relief  on  the  upper  part. 
And  so,  again,  for  the  chaunters  and  drones  of  bagpipes 
we  find  ivory  constantly  used,  sometimes  for  the  pipes 
themselves,  sometimes  inlaid  as  decoration.  The  amateur 
of  beautiful  musical  instruments  will  find  abundant 
material  for  admiration  in  the  use  which  has  been  made 
of  ivory  in  various  ways,  and  the  maker  of  modern  ones 
might  indeed,  perhaps,  be  induced  to  consider  more  often 
how  effectively  it  may  be  applied,  not  only  for  inlay,  but 
also  for  plaques  and  even  for  the  more  solid  portions  in 
the  case,  for  example,  of  grand  pianos. 

Ivory  has  at  all  times  entered  into  the  decoration  of 
arms,  and  accoutrements,  and  weapons  of  the  chase. 
Certain  fragments  of  early  Egyptian  origin,  and  some 
other  monuments  of  antiquity  are  known,  but  the  general 
scarcity  of  very  ancient  instances  of  ivory  sculpture  of 
any  kind  will  not  lead  us  to  expect  to  find  more  than  a 
few  isolated  examples.  Amongst  these  \.\\q  par azoniwn, 
or  parade  sword,  of  the  time  of  the  Roman  occupation 
of  what  is  now  Belgium,  has  been  noticed.  It  is  scarcely 

365 


IVORIES 


necessary  to  do  more  than  call  attention  to  the  very 
general  use  of  ivory  for  sword  and  dagger  hilts  in  all 
countries.  Most  of  the  great  collections  of  arms  possess 
numberless  specimens,  and  the  oriental  examples  range 
over  all  eastern  countries  from  very  early  times  to  the 
present  day. 

In  the  middle  ages  the  most  remarkable  objects  for 
use  in  the  field,  or  for  the  chase,  to  which  sculptured 
ivory  or  bone  was  applied  were  the  pommels  or  cantles 
of  the  ponderous  saddles  of  those  times.  The  extent 
of  surface  which  was  available  offered  a considerable 
opportunity  for  the  work  of  the  carver.  We  often  find 
particulars  in  old  inventories  of  the  wealth  of  decoration 
lavished  upon  horse  furniture,  and  the  elaborate  carving, 
gilding,  embroidery,  and  precious  stones  with  which  it 
was  ornamented.  The  monk  Theophilus,  whose  work,  ; j 
De  diversis  artibits,  has  already  been  quoted,  gives  minute  ' I 
directions  for  the  embellishment  of  the  panels  and  backs  of  ! 
the  cantles  of  saddles,  and  there  were  stringent  regulations 
of  the  trade  guilds  concerning  the  degrees  of  ornament 
which  might  be  applied  to  the  different  portions.  For 
example,  pure  gold  only  might  be  used  on  the  cantle, 
but  a lesser  quality,  or  colours,  on  the  arcon.  Evidently 
the  back  part  of  the  cantle  was  considered  the  place  of 
honour.  In  At  is  et  Prophelias,  a romance  of  the  twelfth 
century,  we  find  : — 

“D’Ivoire  furent  li  archon 
Borde  de  pierres  environ.’’ 

One  or  two  specimens  of  cantles  in  ivory  from  the 
museum  of  the  Louvre — for  we  have  no  examples  at 
South  Kensington  or  in  the  British  Museum,  and  but 
unimportant  ones  even  in  the  magnificent  collection  of 
arms  at  Hertford  House — may  be  selected  as  typical. 
The  first  of  these  is  Italian  work  of  the  thirteenth  century; 
a long-shaped  plaque  with  rounded  ends.  It  is  carved 
with  a spirited  representation  of  a battle  of  the  amazons 
within  a border,  on  three  sides,  of  foliage  in  deeply  cut 
366 


ARMS  AND  SPORTINCx  WEAPONS 

open-work.  A still  finer  one,  and  perhaps  the  earliest 
known,  also  in  the  Louvre,  was  formerly  in  the  Spitzer 
collection.  It  is  remarkable  for  the  figures  of  two  knights 
tilting,  which  form  the  principal  subject.  We  derive  from 
this  piece  interesting  details  of  the  armour  of  the  period, 
the  cylindrical  helmets  surmounted  by  conical  caps,  the 
shirts  of  mail,  the  shoulder-pieces,  genouillieres,  and 
greaves,  and  the  triangular  shields — of  which  one  bears 
the  arms  of  Aragon  and  Sicily.  Around  three  of  the 
edges  runs  a most  intricate  design,  in  the  style  of  the 
twelfth  century,  of  interlaced  foliage  work,  with  which 
are  mingled  numerous  figures — combats  between  men 
and  bears,  a fight  between  naked  men,  between  bulls 
and  fantastical  animals,  the  hunting  of  stags  and  wild 
boars  and  of  lions — and  in  the  centre  a large  eagle  with 
outstretched  wings  is  carrying  off  a hare  in  its  claws. 
The  style,  the  composition,  and  the  workmanship  of  this 
interesting  piece  are  admirable.  It  is  Italian  (Sicilian) 
work,  and,  if  we  may  judge  from  the  arms  above  alluded 
to,  made  for  a king  of  Sicily  some  time  between  the  middle 
and  the  close  of  the  thirteenth  century.  The  saddle  in 
the  Wallace  collection  is  a German  one,  entirely  overlaid 
or  plated  with  plaques  of  bone  or  polished  stag’s-horn 
carved  in  low  relief  with  figures  of  a man  and  woman 
in  the  costume  of  about  1470.  They  hold  between  them 
a long  scroll,  which  meanders  about  the  whole  composi- 
tion, on  which  is  a sonnet  in  obsolete  German,  which  is 
thus  translated  in  the  catalogue  : — 

The  Woman — 

“ I go  hence,  I know  not  where  : 

Well  a day!  willingly  thou  art  not  forgotten.” 

The  Man— 

“ I go,  I stop : the  longer  I stay, 

The  more  mad  I become  : 

Thine  for  ever,  the  world  over,  your  betrothed.” 

The  Woman — 

“ But  if  the  war  should  end  ? ” 

The  Man — 

“ I should  rejoice  to  be  always  here.” 

367 


IVORIES 

There  is  little  else  which  calls  for  attention  until  we 
come  to  the  fifteenth  century,  when  the  magnificence  of 
the  times  which  preceded  the  full  glory  of  the  renais- 
sance and  of  the  two  succeeding  centuries  caused  every 
object  of  ordinary  use  to  be  covered  with  rich  and  artistic 
decoration.  It  is  therefore  not  surprising  that  arms  of 
all  kinds,  the  weapons  of  the  chase  and  other  accessories 
for  sporting  purposes,  should  share  in  the  general  luxury 
of  adornment.  Throughout  these  periods  ivory  or  stag’s- 
horn  was  used  in  lavish  profusion  for  the  inlay  of  the 
arbalestes,  or  crossbows,  the  pistols,  arquebusses,  pet- 
ronels,  rifles,  powder-flasks,  powder-primers,  and  other 
things  which  were  required  for  military  or  hunting  pur- 
poses. Most  people  are  familiar  with  the  curious  and 
at  the  same  time  elegant  forms  of  the  sporting  guns  of 
the  renaissance  period,  which  presented  a sufficiently 
large  surface  upon  which  the  artistic  decorator  could 
employ  his  skill.  But  without  devoting  special  attention 
to  many  individual  examples,  and  without  a large  number 
of  illustrations,  it  would  be  difficult  to  appreciate  their 
importance  and  the  wonderful  variety  of  decoration 
which  are  displayed  in  them.  In  the  same  way,  how- 
ever, that  the  museum  at  South  Kensington  furnishes 
sufficient  examples  of  the  earlier  periods  of  ivory  carv- 
ing in  general,  so  also  we  have  near  at  hand,  in  the 
Wallace  collection  at  Hertford  House,  one  of  the  finest 
collections  of  decorative  armour  in  the  world,  and  from 
this  we  may  draw  one  or  two  examples  of  the  various 
ways  in  which  ivory  was  used  for  weapons  which  will 
be  sufficiently  comprehensive.  Most  of  the  famous  col- 
lections of  arms  and  armour  which  have  been  dispersed 
during  the  last  half-century  have  contributed  their 
greatest  treasures  to  the  armoury  at  Hertford  House, 
and  the  specimens  are  there  exhibited  more  on  account 
of  their  artistic  beauty  than  from  an  armourer’s  point 
of  view. 

The  method  in  which  polished  stag’s-horn  was  used, 
368 


PLATE  L\.\.\l  INLAID  FIKE-ARiNiS 


OTHER  ACCESSORIES. 

not  only  for  the  engraved  plaques  which  were  inlaid 
in  weapons,  but  also  for  the  portions  which  were  carved 
in  relief,  and  the  resemblance  which  this  horn  bears  to 
ivory,  frequently  cause  the  one  to  be  taken  for  the  other  ; 

; and,  as  a matter  of  fact,  it  is  rare  in  museums  to  find 
! any  other  description  than  ivory  given  to  them.  The 
I sculptured  portions  have,  of  course,  the  greatest  interest 
.j  for  us.  The  engraved  plaques,  on  the  other  hand,  are 
r|  more  akin  to  the  system  of  decoration  which  has  been 
noticed  in  the  case  of  furniture,  and,  strictly  speaking, 

: they  fall  within  our  province  from  the  same  point  of 
■I  view  only  as  the  certosina  work  with  which  they  have 
I:  an  analogy.  But  it  would  be  impossible  to  ignore  the 

f charm  and  the  interest  which  belong  to  them  on  account 
of  the  subjects  filled  in  with  black  in  the  fashion  of  niello 
work,  with  which  they  are  engraved.  Very  various  indeed 
are  the  pictures  of  all  kinds  which  we  find  upon  the  stocks, 

,j  and  upon  every  available  portion  of  the  surface  of  these 
arms — pictures  illustrative  of  manners  and  costumes  of 
: the  time,  hunting  scenes,  bear  and  bull  baiting,  mytho- 
: logical  and  allegorical  figures  and  emblems,  the  romances 
of  the  period,  the  musketeers  in  their  full  bombasted 
breeches,  coats  of  arms,  monograms,  ciphers,  busts, 

; arabesques,  scrolls,  masks,  fantastic  animals,  religious 
subjects — everything,  in  fact,  is  laid  under  contribution, 
and  there  is  scarcely  one  of  these  highly  decorated 
' weapons  which  is  not  full  of  interest,  and  will  not  repay 
minute  examination.  Charming  also  is  the  manner  in 
which  the  engraved  or  chased  and  polished  stag’s-horn, 
or  ivory,  harmonises  with  the  darker  tone  of  the  beautiful 
I woods  of  which  the  butts  and  stocks  are  made,  and  with 
1 the  elegance  of  the  gilt  and  chiselled  mounts.  Fre- 
1 quently  the  whole  is  still  further  enriched  by  the  inlay 
: of  gold  and  silver,  mother-of-pearl,  and  other  precious 
I materials.  The  arbalestes  or  crossbows,  the  elegant 
wheel-lock  pistols  with  their  huge  spherical  pommels, 
and  the  arquebusses  of  various  kinds,  are  all  inlaid 
2 B 369 


IVORIES 

with  engraved  plaques,  and  in  addition,  in  many  cases, 
the  ivory  or  stag’s-horn  mountings  are  carved  in  relief. 

A German  crossbow  of  the  middle  of  the  fifteenth 
century  in  the  Wallace  collection  has  a stock  of  walnut 
wood  and  a barrel  of  ivory,  and  is  inlaid  with  plaques 
of  polished  stag’s-horn  carved  with  a great  variety  of 
subjects : for  example,  Adam  and  Eve  in  Paradise, 
knights  in  armour,  shields  of  arms  of  Bohemia,  Austria  ^ 
and  Hungary,  St.  George  and  the  dragon,  allegorical 
groups,  and  the  martyrdom  of  St.  Catherine — a very 
rich  decoration  indeed.  An  arquebus  and  a pair  of 
pistols  in  the  same  collection  (Nos.  199,  774)  illustrate 
very  well  the  fine  Italian  work  of  the  end  of  the  sixteenth 
and  beginning  of  the  seventeenth  centuries.  They  are  most 
delicately  inlaid  with  minute  strap-work,  with  numerous 
small  groups  of  horsemen,  drummers,  musketeers,  and 
classical  and  allegorical  figures.  Arms  of  this  kind  are, 
however,  endless  in  number  and  variety,  and  it  would  be 
impossible  to  follow  them  in  detail. 

The  pulverins,  or  powder-flasks,  and  priming-horns 
are  still  more  charming,  and,  so  far  as  ivory  carving  is 
concerned,  more  elegant  in  design  and  workmanship. 
The  most  usual  and  the  most  characteristic  are  in  the 
natural  form  of  the  stag’s-horn,  leaving  two  forked  ends 
at  the  lower  portions.  They  are  generally  mounted  in 
iron,  steel,  or  damascened  work  of  the  best  style  of  silver-  • 
smith’s  work  of  the  period.  Others,  and  these  are  the  : 
finest,  as  a rule,  are  entirely  of  ivory  and  of  flattened-  • 
globular  and  other  similar  shapes.  The  best  are  nearly  ' 
always  Italian  work,  and  it  is  hardly  too  much  to  say  \ 
that  ivory  sculpture — especially  of  Italy — of  the  sixteenth  | 
and  seventeenth  centuries  is  nowhere  represented  in  purer  1 
taste  or  of  better  workmanship.  A beautiful  oblong  casket  I 
of  walnut  wood  is  interesting,  because  it  exemplifies  a t 
similar  system  of  applied  ornament  in  the  certosina  style,  i 
from  which  to  a certain  extent  the  decoration  of  gun  } 
stocks  and  the  like  was  derived.  At  the  same  time  ) 


370 


CEN'J  UKi 


I 


CASKK  r.  rKKNCH 


PLATL  / xx.\ in 


. CAMvKT.  GERMAN. 

>L:VI-:n  M-l  .M-l  CEM  UKV 


: IITEENTH  '.  FN'TUkV 


OTHER  ACCESSORIES 

we  must  not  forget  that  a like  fashion  prevails  in  the 
i arms  of  India,  Persia,  and  other  oriental  countries,  and 
has  been  continued  down  to  quite  recent  times.  The 
casket  (No.  560  in  the  Wallace  collection)  is  a very  fine 
i!  specimen  of  seventeenth-century  German  work.  The 
j panels  are  inlaid  with  cornucopiae,  dolphins,  scrolls,  and 
fruit  and  flowers  in  stained  stag’s-horn  and  mother-of- 
pearl,  and  in  addition  with  engraved  brass,  and  on  an 
oval  cartouche  in  the  centre  of  one  side  is  the  date  and 
the  maker’s  name:  “Fait  en  Massevaux  par  Jean  Conrad 
Tornier  monteur  d’harqueb’^^®®  L’en  1630.”  We  thus 
connect  this  kind  of  work  with  that  of  a no  doubt 
celebrated  decorator  of  arquebusses. 

In  connection  with  the  use  of  stag’s-horn  instead  of 
ivory,  it  may  be  as  well  to  mention  the  engraved  antlers 
often  sent  as  presents  by  one  great  personage  to  another, 
more  especially  about  the  sixteenth  century.  Existing 
examples  are  of  extreme  rarity;  perhaps,  in  all,  not  more 
than  half  a dozen  are  known.  One  is  in  the  collection 
of  Lord  Tweedmouth,  and  the  Rothschild  collection  at 
Vienna  has  another.  The  beams  and  tines  on  both  are 
covered  with  engraved  sporting  subjects  in  the  style  of 
the  firelocks  of  the  period,  and  the  polish  is  such  that 
they  might  easily  be  taken  for  ivory.  On  account  of 
the  size  of  the  pieces  required  stag’s-horn  was  used  also 
for  the  decoration  of  saddles. 

Besides  weapons,  there  are  also  in  the  armoury  of 
the  Wallace  collection  several  other  interesting  objects 
in,  or  decorated  with,  ivory,  but  limits  of  space  prevent 
more  than  a passing  notice  of  them.  Amongst  them 
are  some  beautiful  pommels  and  sword  and  dagger 
hilts,  an  archer’s  wrist  - guard,  inscribed  “ adrien- 
PHILIPPE,”  and  dated  1608,  engraved  with  the  interior 
of  a blacksmith’s  shop ; some  large  serving-knives  and 
sets  of  knives  and  forks  with  elaborately  carved  handles, 
a very  fine  Flemish  knife-sheath  of  ivory,  carved  with 
figures  of  King  David  and  an  amazon,  walking-staves, 

371 


IVORIES 


wands  of  office,  and  other  minor  objects.  We  have  to 
leave  the  subject  with  regret,  for  even  without  departing 
from  examples  which  are  connected  in  one  way  or  another 
with  ivory  sculpture,  and  allowing  that  the  sixteenth  and 
seventeenth  centuries  cannot  supply  us  with  artistic  work 
of  such  high  merit  as  the  centuries  immediately  preceding, 
there  is  yet  much  of  perhaps  a more  domestic  character 
which  is  very  attractive,  and  to  a great  extent  beautiful. 


372 


CHAPTER  XVIII 


THE  WORKING  OF  IVORY  — ARTIFICIAL  IVORY  — 
COLOURING  AND  STAINING  — FORGERIES — THE 
GREAT  COLLECTIONS 

IN  a larger  work  than  the  present  one  much  of  interest 
might  be  said  concerning  the  practical  details  of 
sculpture  in  ivory,  the  methods  used  by  artists,  and 
the  preparation  of  the  very  great  variety  of  applications 
for  which  ivory  is  used.  Some  of  these,  such  as  the 
manufacture  of  billiard-balls,  combs,  and  the  handles  of 
brushes  and  other  things  of  like  character,  are  worked 
in  a special  manner  differing  from  the  processes  employed 
with  other  materials.  The  turning  of  billiard-balls  is  an 
achievement  which  few  amongst  the  cleverest  of  turners 
would  successfully  accomplish.  Ivory,  like  wood,  requires 
drying  or  seasoning,  otherwise  it  would  be  liable  to  crack, 
warp,  or  shrink  unequally.  This  is  especially  important 
in  the  case  of  billiard-balls.  The  most  extreme  care  is 
necessary  to  obtain  the  nearest  possible  approach  to 
absolute  sphericity.  They  are  usually,  therefore,  turned 
to  the  sphere  for  some  months  before  they  are  finally 
reduced  to  the  actual  size  required,  and  meanwhile  are 
stored  under  the  most  favourable  conditions  for  season- 
ing and  contracting  with  regularity.  The  most  perfect 
tusks  are  selected,  not  necessarily  the  largest ; on  the 
contrary,  the  best  are  made  from  teeth  scarcely  larger  in 
diameter  than  the  balls  themselves.  These  are  known  as 
ball  teeth,  and  command  the  highest  price.  Even  then 

373 


IVORIES 

there  are  different  qualities  from  the  same  tusk,  out  of 
which  perhaps  not  more  than  three  of  the  highest  grade 
can  be  made.  It  would  seem  that  they  are  best  the 
nearer  they  are  to  the  termination  of  the  nerve  which 
runs  through  the  tusk,  and  the  smaller  this  is,  as  may 
often  be  observed  in  the  black  speck  to  be  seen  on  a 
ball,  the  better  the  quality.  About  ten  balls  of  the 
English  size  are  cut  from  a pair  of  tusks,  so  that  to 
supply  the  standing  stock  of  one  great  London  maker, 
which,  it  is  said,  amounts  generally  to  over  twenty  thou- 
sand balls,  would  require  the  produce  of  two  thousand 
elephants. 

The  artist-sculptor  in  ivory  uses  practically  the  same 
tools  as  the  wood-carver : knives,  gouges,  files,  saws  of 
any  kind.  Great  care  is,  of  course,  necessary  in  the 
selection  of  well-seasoned  ivory,  and  of  the  character 
and  direction  of  the  grain.  Large  work  is  naturally 
roughed  out  by  the  practicien  or  pointer,  in  the  same 
way  as  is  usual  in  marble  or  other  monumental 
sculpture. 

There  has  always  been  much  speculation  concerning 
the  manner  in  which  certain  very  large  slabs  which  we 
find  amongst  ancient  and  mediaeval  ivory  carvings  were 
obtained  and  manipulated.  The  fine  leaf  of  a diptych  in 
the  British  Museum,  representing  an  archangel,  measures 
sixteen  and  a half  by  five  and  a quarter  inches,  and  is 
half  an  inch  thick  throughout ; and  amongst  other  large 
pieces  it  will  be  sufficient  to  mention  the  book-covers  in 
the  Paris  National  Library,  which  are  each  no  less  than 
fourteen  and  a half  by  eleven  and  a half  inches,  and 
there  are  others  of  correspondingly  large  dimensions. 
Such  pieces  could  hardly  be  cut  from  the  largest  elephants’ 
tusks  now  known,  and  it  is  conjectured  that  some  means 
of  softening  and  bending  the  ivory  must  have  been  prac- 
tised. Then,  again,  there  are  references  in  ancient  writers 
to  the  colossal  statues  of  ivory,  gold,  and  bronze,  known 
as  chryselephantine,  which  adorned  the  temples  in  Greece 
374 


THE  WORKING  OF  IVORY 

and  Rome.  We  learn  from  Pausanias  particulars  con- 
cerning these  gigantic  works,  which  were  made  by  Phidias 
and  his  contemporaries  at  the  highest  period  of  Greek 
art.  That  of  Minerva  in  the  Parthenon  was  nearly  forty 
feet  in  height,  and  the  colossal  J upiter  at  Olympia,  a sitting 
figure,  measured  no  less  than  fifty-eight  feet.  It  may  be 
remembered  that  works  of  this  kind  were  the  tribute  of 
a grateful  people  to  commemorate  the  victories  over  an 
enemy  who  had  attempted  their  absolute  destruction. 
They  were  made,  therefore,  from  precious  spoils  of  ivory 
and  gold,  and  enriched  in  every  way  as  triumphal  trophies. 
The  faces,  hands,  and  other  exposed  portions  of  the  figures 
were  of  ivory,  and  the  question,  therefore,  of  the  method 
of  production  has  been  often  debated.  But  as  no  remains 
of  these  statues  are  known,  we  can  only  conjecture  the 
exact  part  which  ivory  played  in  their  formation,  and  the 
most  reasonable  explanation  seems  to  be  that  they  were 
simply  covered  with  slabs  or  thin  plates  of  this  material, 
which  could  easily  be  bent  round  to  follow  the  contours. 
The  effect  close  by  would  resemble  a kind  of  mosaic,  or 
the  leading  of  stained-glass  windows,  but  at  a great  height, 
such  as  these  statues  reached,  the  joins  would  be  im- 
perceptible. The  whole  question  has  been  treated  with 
great  erudition,  and  at  considerable  length,  by  M.  Quatre- 
mere  de  Quincy  in  Le  Jupiter  Olyjiipien,  published  in 
1815.  As  befitting  his  subject,  the  book  is  a colossal  folio, 
with  working  plans  showing  the  manner  in  which  ivory 
plates  could  be  affixed  and  attached  to  the  surfaces  of 
objects  to  be  decorated.  An  attempt  made  to  reproduce 
on  a lesser,  though  still  a very  large,  scale  the  Jupiter  of 
Phidias  was  made  in  1855  by  M.  Simart,  of  Paris.  It 
will  be  alluded  to  in  the  following  chapter.  It  may  be 
mentioned  that  a machine  was  invented  and  exhibited  by 
M.  Alessandri  at  the  Paris  Exhibition  of  1855,  by  means 
of  which  veneers  of  ivory  of  large  dimensions  could  be 
cut  from  the  tusk.  Sheets  as  large  as  thirty  by  a hundred 
and  fifty  inches  were  produced  by  it. 


375 


IVORIES 

Some  extraordinary  recipes  by  which  it  was  supposed 
ivory  could  be  hardened  and  moulded  are  to  be  found  in 
the  works  of  the  old  alchemists.  The  monk  Rugerus,  or 
Theophilus,  in  his  book  on  divers  arts  {Schedula  diver- 
saru7n  artiuin,  of  the  eleventh  century)  enjoins  us  to  take 
sulphate  of  potass,  salt,  and  vitriol,  and  to  grind  them  in 
a mortar  with  strong  vinegar,  into  which  the  ivory  being 
placed,  it  can  then  be  moulded  at  will.  Another  method, 
from  a Sloane  MS.  of  the  fifteenth  century,  advises  steep- 
ing in  dilute  muriatic  acid  for  half  a day,  when  it  will 
become  as  soft  as  wax,  and  may  be  again  hardened  by 
placing  in  white  vinegar;  and  another  a mixture  of  quick- 
lime, pounded  tile,  and  torn  tow.  The  latter  suggests, 
and  probably  was,  a method  of  producing  artificial  ivory 
from  waste  ivory  dust  and  other  materials,  rather  than 
one  for  softening  ivory.  According  to  Dioscorides,  the 
root  of  mandragora  possessed  the  property  of  softening 
ivory,  and  Plutarch  speaks  of  boiling  in  fermented  barley. 
Many  of  these  methods  have  been  tried,  but  never  with 
success,  and  this  is  hardly  surprising  if  we  may  judge 
from  the  fanciful  recipes  regarding  other  matters  which 
Theophilus  gives  us  in  his  marvellous  work,  and  the 
extraordinary  ingredients  which  delighted  the  alchemist 
and  the  leech  of  mediaeval  times.  As  a matter  of  fact,  so 
far  as  our  knowledge  goes,  ivory  may  be  softened,  but  it 
cannot  be  again  restored  to  its  original  condition.  Its 
nature  is  entirely  changed,  and  it  becomes  simply  a kind 
of  gelatine.  From  the  point  of  view  of  value  to  art 
there  would,  after  all,  be  little  to  gain. 

The  subject  of  artificial  ivory,  and  of  substitutes 
for  that  of  the  elephant’s  tusk,  is  not  without  interest. 
Amongst  the  latter  some  vegetable  products  are  known, 
and  until  the  recent  introduction  and  popularity  of 
celluloid  and  analogous  compounds,  were  largely  used. 
Corozo,  or  the  fruit  of  the  ivory  palm,  is  a nut  of 
ivory  whiteness,  which  becomes  very  hard,  and  bears 
a singular  resemblance  to  the  true  material.  The 
376 


ARTIFICIAL  IVORY 


plant  is  low-growing,  but  palm-like,  a native  of  the 
great  forests  of  Peru  and  Brazil,  and  of  the  warmer 
parts  of  South  America.  The  fruit  hangs  in  clusters 
in  an  envelope  like  that  of  the  Brazil  nut,  each  pod 
weighing  about  twenty-five  pounds  when  ripe,  and 
containing  six  to  nine  seeds  as  large  as  hen’s  eggs,  the 
albumen  of  which  is  close-grained  and  very  hard,  re- 
sembling fine  ivory  in  texture  and  colour.  It  used  to  be 
much  employed  for  buttons,  umbrella-handles,  and  small 
objects  of  the  kind,  and  it  is  certain  that  some  of  the  older 
Japanese  netsukds  and  okinwno  were  made  from  it.  It  is 
softer  and  not  so  brittle  as  ivory,  easy  to  work,  and  takes 
stain  well.  A method  of  distinguishing  it  from  true  ivory 
is  to  apply  a little  sulphuric  acid.  With  ivory  there  is  no 
discolouration,  but  with  the  nut,  after  a few  minutes  a 
rosy  tint,  which  can  be  easily  washed  off,  appears.  Betel- 
nuts  were  also  used  as  a substitute  for  ivory.  Up  to  the 
eighteenth  century  ivory  was  employed  in  the  making  of 
artificial  teeth,  but  a composition  of  enamel  or  porcelain 
has  since  taken  its  place.  Martial  speaks  of  a lady  who 
had  a set,  but,  as  he  says,  with  very  little  chance  of  passing 
them  off  as  her  own. 

The  modern  methods  of  producing  imitation  ivory, 
besides  celluloid,  consist  in  various  ways  of  utilising 
ivory  and  bone  waste  and  dust  by  maceration  with 
scraps  of  skin  and  leather,  wool,  cotton,  silk,  lac,  and 
other  materials,  in  solutions  of  chloride  of  lime,  using 
also  phosphates  of  chalk,  gelatine,  gutta-percha,  plaster 
of  Paris,  and  analogous  substances.  The  residue,  which 
forms  a fluid  gelatinous  mass,  is  filtered  and  spread  on 
frames,  and  allowed  to  harden  in  a strong  solution  of 
alum.  Another  and  older  system  is  by  boiling  potatoes 
in  sulphuric  acid,  by  which  they  become  extremely  hard 
and  ivory-like  in  texture.  Bonzoline  billiard  balls  are 
now  very  well  known,  and  by  many  players  preferred 
to  ivory  ones,  on  account  of  their  elasticity,  and  because 
they  are  not  so  liable  to  shrink  or  warp.  A new 

377 


IVORIES 

discovery,  that  of  the  product  called  Gallalith,  now  being 
commercially  worked  at  Hamburg,  is  too  recent  to  allow 
of  more  than  passing  notice.  It  is  used  as  a substitute 
not  only  for  ivory,  but  for  horn,  tortoise-shell,  amber, 
and  coral  It  takes  a high  polish,  is  easily  turned,  and 
is  not  inflammable.  Preparations  of  caseine  are  said 
also  to  be  largely  used  in  France. 

What  are  known  in  art  museums  as  Fictile  ivories 
are,  of  course,  imitations  of  the  original  works  rather 
than  actual  substitutes.  It  would  be  difficult  to  ex- 
aggerate their  teaching  value.  From  this  point  of  view 
they  are  practically  equal  to  the  originals  themselves. 
The  South  Kensington  Museum  possesses  a series  of 
considerably  over  a thousand,  but  unfortunately  no  addi- 
tions appear  to  have  been  made  to  it  since  about  thirty 
years  ago.  It  is  a pity  that  every  known  ivory  of  any 
importance  is  not  included.  No  works  of  art  lend  them- 
selves more  easily  to  reproduction,  so  that  at  a small 
cost  and  with  little  difficulty  an  absolutely  complete  col- 
lection could  be  made.  The  great  importance  of  ivory 
sculpture  in  the  history  of  art,  not  only  of  the  periods 
when  other  arts  were  in  a flourishing  condition,  but  also 
of  times  of  which  we  possess  no  sculpture  and  even 
hardly  any  pictorial  examples,  requires  no  insisting  upon; 
but  obvious  as  it  is  we  may  doubt  whether  the  fact  has 
been  sufficiently  recognised.  Although  only  plaster  casts, 
fictiles  need  not  be  put  away  in  dark  corners  or  placed  at 
such  a height  from  the  ground  that,  without  a tall  ladder, 
it  is  impossible  to  examine  them. 

It  is  by  no  means  a difficult  process  to  make  fictile 
copies  of  ivory  carvings  of  almost  any  kind.  Ordinary 
gutta-percha  is  heated  and  mixed  with  sufficient  wax  to 
prevent  it  hardening  too  rapidly  on  cooling.  Enough  of 
this  preparation  for  the  cast  required  is  then  softened  in 
nearly  boiling  water  until  it  is  about  the  consistency  of 
well-kneaded  putty.  The  ivory  receives  first  a thin  coat- 
ing of  a weak  solution  of  soft  soap  and  is  then  covered 
378 


FORGERIES 

with  this  composition,  which  is  pressed  with  the  fingers 
until  it  has  entered  into  and  filled  up  every  portion  of 
the  carved  surfaces.  Being  very  pliable,  no  danger  to 
the  original  need  be  apprehended.  If  there  is  much 
undercutting  or  fragile  open-work,  of  course  these  por- 
tions should  be  protected  and  the  resulting  cast  finished 
subsequently  by  hand.  The  mould,  when  quite  cold  and 
hard,  is  easily  removed  and  a cast  made  from  it  in  fine 
plaster  of  Paris  in  the  usual  way.  The  plaster  is  then 
dipped  in  melted  stearine,  from  which  it  acquires  an 
ivory-like  surface,  which  will  take  water-colour  without 
difficulty  if  it  is  desired  to  make  a still  more  faithful 
reproduction  of  an  ancient  and  perhaps  discoloured 
original.  The  simple  white  and  stearined  casts  are, 
however,  much  to  be  preferred.  It  must,  of  course,  be 
admitted  that  plaster  reproductions  of  this  kind  are 
fragile,  and  it  would  be  a considerable  improvement  if 
a moulding  material  of  the  nature  of  bonzoline  could  be 
substituted. 

A good  deal  of  attention  has  lately  been  given  to  the 
question  of  forged  antiquities  and  the  systematic  manu- 
facture of  spurious  works  of  art.  This  is  no  new  industry, 
but  has  been  practised  for  centuries,  and  we  find  refer- 
ence to  it  in  ancient  classical  writings.  It  is  hardly 
within  our  province  to  follow  the  subject  generally.  It 
will  suffice  to  say  that  no  department  of  art  has  been 
free  from  the  attention  of  the  clever  forger.  He  has  tried 
his  hand,  and  successfully,  with  paintings,  engravings, 
sculpture,  goldsmith’s  work,  enamels,  ceramics,  every- 
thing, in  fact,  that  is  envied  and  collected  by  the  art- 
loving  connoisseur.  Possibly  it  may  not  be  altogether 
an  unmixed  evil,  for  it  serves  at  least  the  purpose  of 
increasing  our  knowledge  and  care.  It  may  even  be  said 
that  no  expert,  no  collector  of  note  has  escaped,  but  that 
at  one  time  or  another  he  has  bought  valuable  experience 
which  perhaps  he  would  have  acquired  in  no  other  way. 
When  we  recall  the  wonderful  productions  of  such  a great 

379 


IVORIES 

artist  as  Bastianini,  or  of  Roukomovski  who  made  the 
tiara  of  Saitaphernes  and  other  pieces  of  goldsmith’s  work 
in  which  the  highest  authorities  believed  until  the  very 
last  moment — until,  in  fact,  the  modern  artist  revealed 
himself — we  shall  be  prepared  to  expect  that  ivory  sculp- 
ture could  produce  similar  examples.  It  is  at  least 
satisfactory  that  forgeries  of  importance  are  more  rare 
amongst  old  ivories  than  in  other  departments  of  art. 
There  have  been,  so  far  as  we  are  aware,  few  in  our 
great  public  collections  in  England  which  can  be  pointed 
to  or  have  even  been  suggested.  Probably  every  fine 
example  of  such  things  as  consular  diptychs,  book- 
covers,  and  the  most  important  mediaeval  ivories  is 
well  known,  their  history  and  possessors  may  be  traced 
with  accuracy,  and  the  appearance  of  anything  of  the 
kind  which  might  hitherto  have  remained  in  obscurity 
would — internal  evidence  apart — entail  a strict  exami- 
nation of  the  circumstances  under  which  it  had  so  long 
lain  hidden. 

The  manufacture  of  spurious  paintings  and  sculpture 
is  almost  a recognised  industry  in  Italy.  Vienna  and 
Amsterdam  have  produced  notable  examples  of  objects  in 
the  precious  metals,  and  the  discoveries  of  the  marvellous 
Scytho-Greek  goldsmith’s  work  in  the  tombs  of  the 
Crimea  no  doubt  instigated  the  clever  imitator  of  these 
things  to  produce  the  work  which,  after  having  deceived 
the  most  learned  authorities,  has  been  so  recently  exposed 
in  Paris.  The  attention  that  ivories  have  received  has 
probably  been  from  such  modern  centres  of  the  industry 
as  Geislingen  and  Erbach,  in  Germany. 

In  many  cases  of  forgeries  it  may  happen  that  parts 
of  an  object  may  be  genuine  while  the  rest  is  false,  but 
with  ivories  we  have  hitherto  been  met  by  no  such  diffi- 
culties. No  imitator  has  yet  dared  to  produce  for  us  a 
consular  diptych  in  the  original  precious  setting  with 
which,  there  can  be  little  doubt,  those  destined  for  pre- 
sentation to  distinguished  personages  were  mounted, 
380 


FORGERIES 

although  the  field  for  invention  would  be  all  his  own. 
No  one  has  reconstructed  a shrine  or  reliquary  of  the 
thirteenth  century  with  its  rich  belongings. 

Ivory  forgeries  are  often  artificially  aged  by  steeping 
in  tobacco  or  liquorice  juice,  burying  in  dunghills,  by 
wearing  next  to  the  skin  and  frequently  rubbing,  and  in 
other  ways.  Even  the  cracking  and  disintegration  are 
imitated  without  much  difficulty. 

It  is  strange  how  often  the  forger  of  antiques  gives 
himself  away  in  some  minor  particulars.  We  shall  see 
this  presently  in  the  case  of  a well-known  spurious  con- 
sular diptych.  In  regard  to  diptychs  generally,  the 
fashion  of  the  hinges,  and  the  method  in  which  the  ivory 
is  prepared  to  receive  them,  often  furnish  valuable  tests. 
It  has,  of  course,  to  be  admitted  that  forgeries  of  all  kinds 
have  been,  and  still  are,  executed  by  most  skilful  artists. 
There  are  no  more  notable  examples  than  the  quattro- 
cento terra-cotta  busts  in  the  Kensington  Museum,  whose 
maker  was  perhaps  equal  in  power  and  knowledge  of  his 
subject  to  those  whose  work  and  feeling  he  imitated. 
Their  artistic  quality  alone  would  baffle  the  expert,  and 
in  such  instances  we  can  only  rely  on  comparatively  in- 
significant details  to  put  us,  in  the  first  place,  upon  the 
track  of  suspicion.  Nothing  is  more  curious  than  the 
revulsion  of  feeling  which  ensues  on  conviction. 

Some  remarks  on  a few  typical,  or  supposed  spurious 
ivories  will  not  be  without  interest.  It  will  be  noticed 
that  although  it  is  not  unlikely  that  many  others  are  in 
circulation,  the  number  of  those  of  any  importance  which 
have  been  detected  is  extremely  few.  There  can  be  no 
safeguard  against  imitations  which  would  be  in  some 
cases  not  difficult  to  make,  except  the  intimate  acquaint- 
ance with  the  style  and  spirit  of  the  period  aflected,  which 
only  long  and  careful  study  of  such  things  can  give. 
Signatures  of  artists  are  almost  wholly  wanting,  inscrip- 
tions, and  the  guide  which  the  style  of  lettering  affords 
are  not  very  common,  we  have  nothing  to  correspond  with 

381 


IVORIES 

hall-marks,  and  the  quality  of  ivory  is  the  same  now  as  it 
was  in  prehistoric  days. 

The  Leodiense  consular  diptych,  one  leaf  of  which  is 
in  the  Kensington  Museum,  the  other  at  Berlin,  was 
formerly  preserved  in  the  cathedral  at  Liege.  It  was  there 
when  described  by  Wiltheim,  in  \{\s  Dipt y chon  Leodiense, 
published  in  1659,  and  an  engraving  of  it  forms  the 
frontispiece  to  his  book.  This  engraving  is  fairly  accurate, 
and  is  interesting  from  the  fact  that  it  was  made  before  the 
Kensington  leaf  had  lost  a not  inconsiderable  portion  of 
the  right-hand  lower  corner.  The  diptych  disappeared 
in  the  troubles  of  the  French  Revolution,  and  was  lost 
sight  of  for  some  time.  Its  subsequent  history  is  un- 
certain, but,  at  any  rate,  early  in  the  year  1864  the  leaf 
which  is  now  at  Kensington,  and  at  that  time  in  the 
possession  of  Mr.  Webb,  was  exhibited  and  described 
by  the  late  Sir  Augustus  Franks,  at  a meeting  of  the 
Society  of  Antiquaries.  In  the  summer  of  the  same 
year  Mr.  Franks,  to  his  surprise,  found  what  purported 
to  be  the  entire  diptych  at  the  museum  of  the  Porte  du 
Hal,  at  Brussels.  He  was  well  aware  of  the  existence  of 
the  Berlin  leaf,  and,  of  course,  of  the  one  just  mentioned. 
By  his  advice  the  ivories  were  taken  out  of  the  wooden 
frames  in  which  they  were  fixed  and  carefully  examined, 
with  the  result  that  their  spurious  nature  was  at  once 
made  evident.  Amongst  other  indications,  the  first  glance 
on  removal  from  the  frames  showed  that  the  surfaces  of 
the  backs  of  the  leaves  had  not  been  lowered  in  the  usual 
way  to  receive  wax  for  writing  on.  It  appears  that  the 
authorities  of  the  museum  had  purchased  the  forged  dip- 
tych, for  which  they  had  given  no  less  than  ^800,  from 
a dealer  at  Liege,  without  sufficient  examination,  and 
under  the  impression  that  they  had  acquired  a treasure 
of  exceeding  rarity.  In  the  sequel  the  dealer  was  com- 
pelled to  refund  the  amount  paid,  and  the  clever  forger 
had  to  quit  the  country  to  avoid  imprisonment.  The 
imitation  was  confiscated,  and  is  still  in  the  hands  of  the 
382 


FORGERIES 

Brussels  authorities.  M.  Eudel,  in  his  amusing  and 
somewhat  imaginative  work,/.^  Truquage,  has,  of  course, 
something  to  say  on  the  subject.  He  describes  the  ivories 
as  being  framed  in  ebony  cases  v/ith  fine  and  elegant 
mouldings.  The  fact  is  that  the  wood  in  which  they  are 
firmly  encased  is  of  ancient-looking  and  worm-eaten  oak, 
with  metal  mounts  and  hinges  to  correspond.  On  ex- 
amining the  diptych  one  is  at  once  struck  by  the  greater 
depth  to  which  the  ivory  is  carved  than  is  the  case  with 
the  genuine  leaves,  or  with  most  examples  of  consular 
diptychs.  From  various  minor  details  also,  such  as  the 
curls  of  the  consul’s  hair,  or  the  fashion  of  the  curule 
chair,  which  correspond  accurately  with  the  imperfect 
representation  in  Wiltheim’s  work,  there  can  remain  no 
doubt  that  it  is  from  this  that  the  copy  was  made.  It  has 
been  given  an  appearance  of  age,  and  the  surface  is  con- 
siderably rubbed.  It  must  be  admitted  that  it  is  extremely 
well  executed,  especially  in  the  lower  portion,  which  re- 
presents scenes  in  the  circus.  Had  the  forger  taken 
originals  for  his  inspiration,  it  would  have  been  far  more 
difficult  on  prima  facie  grounds  to  decide  against  its 
being  a genuine  duplicate  of  a consular  diptych,  for 
replicas  of  such  things  were  undoubtedly  made  for  dis- 
tribution as  presents.  As  a clever  copy  it  has  a certain 
value  as  an  interesting  and  very  near  reproduction  in 
ivory  of  the  diptych  before  a portion  had  been  broken  off 
and  lost. 

Mention  may  be  made,  under  all  reserve,  of  copies 
of  the  diptychs  of  Flavius  Clementinus  now  in  the 
Liverpool  Museum,  and  of  Areobindus  in  the  Trevulzi 
collection  at  Milan,  formerly  in  the  Possente  collection  at 
Fabriano,  which  was  dispersed  late  in  the  last  century. 

The  question  of  the  genuineness  of  the  Vierge  ouv- 
rante  in  the  Louvre  has  already  been  noticed  (page  173). 
We  have  no  information  as  to  the  exact  reason  which 
led  the  authorities  of  the  museum  to  the  conclusion 
that  it  is  a forgery,  and  it  would  be  presumptuous  on 

383 


IVORIES 

the  evidence  only  of  the  cast  from  this  piece  or  from 
the  photographs  to  express  a decided  opinion  on  the 
subject.  The  treatment  of  the  figure  itself  and  of  the 
groups  within  it  do  not  greatly  differ  from  the  Boubon 
image.  The  Virgin  holds  the  Child  upon  her  knee, 
His  right  hand  raised  in  benediction  ; and  in  the  repre- 
sentation of  the  crucifixion  the  allegorical  figures  of  the 
sun  and  moon  are  placed  in  a quite  unusual  manner, 
that  is  to  say,  the  sun  is  on  the  left  instead  of  on  the 
right.  The  cartouche  of  the  Lamb,  plastered  as  it 
were  on  the  upper  arm  of  the  cross,  is  altogether  in- 
explicable. If  a forgery,  the  question  arises  whence 
the  sculptor  obtained  the  model  from  which  he  drew 
his  inspiration.  It  could  scarcely  have  been  in  its 
entirety  from  the  Boubon  image,  for  it  would  appear 
certain  that  the  central  portion  of  this  had  been  lost 
sight  of  for  more  than  a century.  On  the  other  hand — 
although  no  particulars  exist  amongst  the  papers  of  the 
Hugonneau-Beaufet  family — it  seems  that  the  fragment 
which  they  possessed  was  sent  to  Paris  about  the  year 
1830  to  be  repaired.  The  whole  matter  is  of  consider- 
able interest  and  importance,  and  perhaps  the  last  word 
has  not  yet  been  said  regarding  the  authenticity — in 
whole  or  in  part — of  the  “monster”  of  the  Louvre  or 
of  the  figures  at  Lyon  and  at  Rouen. 

The  learned  M.  Didron,  in  \htAiinalesarch4ologiqties, 
to  which  he  has  contributed  so  much  valuable  archaeo- 
logical lore,  throws  doubt  on  the  authenticity  of  several 
ancient  ivories  which  are  accepted  in  various  museums. 
Amongst  them  are  the  tablet  representing  the  Virgin  and 
Child  and  the  companion-piece,  the  first  of  which  we  have 
described  at  length  (page  96),  and  with  these  he  includes 
the  great  book-covers  in  the  Paris  Library,  the  covers  of 
i\vQCociex  Ebneriami.sm  the  Bodleian,  and  eight  Byzantine 
ivories  in  the  Berlin  Museum,  which  it  is  unnecessary  to 
specify  here  as  we  have  made  no  previous  reference  to 
them.  In  addition  he  doubts  the  genuineness  of  the 
384 


PLATE  LXXXll'  ■■ViliRGK  OUVRAX  I'E 
(In  the  Louvre) 


FORGERIES 


Byzantine  plaque  of  the  Emperor  Otho  and  his  wife 
Theophano,  in  the  Cluny  Museum.  Of  course  the 
Emperor  Otho  plaque  is  not  so  fine  as  that  of  the  Greek 
Evangelistarium,  certainly  of  the  eleventh  century,  in 
the  Paris  Library,  which  it  so  much  resembles.  The 
design  is  almost  identical  on  both,  but  while  the  execu- 
tion of  the  Romanus  and  Eudocia  example  is  careful 
to  a degree,  the  other  is  by  no  means  equal  in  work- 
manship. Still,  it  need  not  follow  that  all  these  are 
forgeries  in  the  sense  of  being  made  to  deceive,  even 
should  they  not  be  of  the  epochs  assigned  to  them. 
They  may  be  genuinely  made  copies,  or  partly  copies, 
and  with  regard  to  the  Emperor  Otho  plaque  it  is 
certainly  mentioned  as  existing  in  their  time  by  the 
two  learned  Benedictines,  Martene  and  Durand,  in  their 
account  of  the  Voyage  Littdraire  which  they  made  in 
1717.  It  requires  no  great  stretch  of  imagination  to 
conjecture  that  monastic  artists  would  from  time  to 
time  more  or  less  accurately  copy  plaques  or  other 
objects  in  ivory  in  their  possession.  They  would  prob- 
ably also  sometimes  mix  two  styles,  and  therefore  cause 
an  appearance  of  anachronism  which,  when  not  too  flag- 
rant, is  calculated  to  puzzle  the  archaeologist  of  later 
times.  We  cannot  avoid  thinking  that  M.  Didron 
not  unfrequently  describes  objects  and  founds  opinions 
from  engravings  or  casts  rather  than  from  originals. 
Certainly  he  did  so  in  the  case  of  the  Bodleian  Greek 
Testament.  The  cast  of  the  ivories  in  the  covers  repro- 
duces also  part  of  the  very  poor  modern  silver  work  in 
which  they  are  set. 

An  early  chapter  in  this  book  was  devoted  to  pre- 
historic ivory  carvings,  and  it  must  be  said  that  there  has 
been  a not  inconsiderable  output  of  spurious  things  of 
the  kind  which  profess  to  have  been  discovered  in  Swiss 
lake  dwellings  and  in  the  caves  of  the  Dordogne.  The 
St.  Germain  Museum  possesses  an  interesting  collection 
of  forgeries,  and  to  this  the  reader  may  be  referred.  The 
2 c 385 


IVORIES 

best  genuine  examples,  including  those  noticed  in  our 
second  chapter,  are  also  in  this  museum,  and  we  may 
be  contented  with  the  authority  of  the  learned  curator. 

The  colouring  of  ivory  is  a subject  which  may  be 
looked  upon  from  two  points  of  view:  on  the  one  hand, 
in  relation  to  the  change  which  takes  place  under  certain 
conditions,  and  involves,  more  properly  speaking,  the 
discoloration  of  the  material;  and,  on  the  other,  with 
regard  to  the  artistic  propriety  of  using  colour  in  sculp- 
ture generally.  Both  are  points  of  sufficient  interest  to 
justify  at  least  some  passing  attention. 

It  is  difficult  to  account  in  all  cases  for  the  discoloration 
or  bleaching  of  ivory,  and  for  the  organic  changes  which 
disintegrate  the  substance,  and  cause  it  to  assume  an 
aspect  totally  different  from  its  natural  condition.  We 
find  this  especially  illustrated  in  the  case  of  ancient  ivories, 
such  as  the  Nineveh  fragments,  which  have  lain  buried  for 
a considerable  period,  and  have  undergone,  perhaps,  in 
addition,  the  action  of  heat,  but  not  to  such  an  extent  as 
to  cause  them  to  exfoliate.  It  is  analogous,  no  doubt,  to 
the  decomposition  of  glass,  which  flakes  and  becomes 
iridescent  in  various  degrees,  according  to  the  nature 
of  the  soil  in  which  it  has  been  buried,  the  exclusion  of 
air,  and  the  substances  which  the  object  contains,  or  with 
which  it  has  been  brought  into  contact.  The  Nineveh 
and  other  very  ancient  ivories  present  an  appearance 
which  few  people  would  dream  of  associating  with  this 
material.  Some  are  entirely  like  ebony,  others  resemble 
fossil  wood,  basalt,  boxwood,  slate,  sandstone,  and  even 
opal.  The  gelatinous  substance  must  have  shared  in 
the  changes,  for  where  this  is  wanting,  nothing  but  the 
bony  structure  is  left.  Again,  where  ivory,  such  as  the 
mammoth  remains  of  all  countries,  has  been  buried  for 
unnumbered  ages,  it  becomes,  under  certain  conditions, 
veritable  turquoise.  Where  no  very  great  length  of  time 
has  elapsed,  however,  it  is  not  always  easy  to  account 
for  the  variety  of  discoloration  which  takes  place.  A 
386 


COLOURING  AND  DISCOLOURATION 

piece  of  a casket  in  the  British  Museum,  and  a fragment 
of  a figure  found  in  London,  and  both  no  older  than 
the  thirteenth  century,  resemble  much  more  nearly  box- 
wood than  ivory,  and  the  Archangel  diptych  in  the  same 
collection  is  in  a somewhat  similar  condition.  The  Arab 
casket  at  Kensington  has  the  appearance  of  plaster  or 
darkened  alabaster.  The  Passion  plaques  of  the  seventh 
century,  which  have  been  described,  are  of  a reddish 
chestnut  hue.  The  Downside  crucifix  is  of  a fine 
mahogany  colour  for  the  most  part,  and  in  more  or  less 
variety  this  is  not  unusual,  and,  as  has  already  been 
remarked,  is  far  from  unpleasing.  Many  other  in- 
stances of  what  may  almost  be  called  vagaries  might 
be  mentioned,  but  the  above  will  suffice.  A simple 
method  of  producing  the  reddish  or  chestnut  colour  on 
ivories  is  to  give  a coating  of  oil ; then  to  apply  friction 
by  means  of  the  lathe  and  a piece  of  rag ; and,  finally, 
to  expose  to  the  sun  for  a few  days. 

It  is  generally  considered  that  exposure  to  light  has 
the  effect  of  bleaching  ivory,  but  the  crucifix  just 
mentioned  has  been  so  exposed  for  at  least  a hundred 
years.  On  the  other  hand,  most  of  the  mediaeval  ivories 
in  the  Wallace  Museum,  for  example,  are  in  a most 
extraordinary  state  of  fine  preservation.  The  most 
delicate  portions,  such  as  hairlike  spears  and  other 
projecting  parts,  are  perfect,  and  the  ivories  themselves 
are  as  purely  white  as  the  day  they  were  made.  And 
yet  their  preservation  for  four  or  five  centuries  is  prob- 
ably due  to  their  having  been  kept  in  cases  and  carefully 
stored  away.  We  know,  from  the  examples  which  have 
come  down  to  us,  that  most  beautifully  stamped  cases 
of  Cftiv-bouilli  were  specially  made  to  contain  very  fine 
diptychs  and  other  mediaeval  ivories.  Ivory  from  the 
tusk  of  a young  animal  remains  white  longer  than  that 
of  older  ones. 

There  are,  of  course,  artificial  methods  of  bleaching 
ivory,  to  which  it  is  hardly  necessary  to  do  more  than 

387 


IVORIES 

refer,  for  no  one  would  think  of  tampering  with  what 
may  be  called  the  patina  of  a fine  ivory.  The  dipping 
in  turpentine  and  exposing  to  sunshine  during  three  or 
four  days  is  said  to  be  practical  and  harmless. 

The  colouring  of  ivory  statuettes  and  groups,  and 
of  diptychs,  triptychs,  and  other  things  of  the  kind,  was 
usual  in  the  middle  ages,  and,  in  addition,  they  were 
often  gilded.  The  group  of  the  Coronation  of  the 
Virgin  in  the  Louvre  is  a charming  example,  the  faces 
and  hands  delicately  tinted,  and  the  robes  diapered  with 
a pattern.  Sometimes  the  whole  of  a group,  except  the 
flesh  tones,  was  gilded,  as  we  find  in  an  example  of 
which  an  illustration  has  been  given  (plate  xxxix.);  or  the 
hair  only  is  gilded,  and  this  with  good  effect.  We  must 
not  hastily  conclude  that  colouring  in  sculpture  is  bar- 
barous or  vulgar.  With  regard  to  marble,  we  know  that 
the  works  of  the  greatest  Greek  sculptors,  of  Praxiteles 
or  Phidias,  were  often  coloured.  An  argument  against 
the  use  of  colour  is  that  it  is  not  legitimate  to  mingle 
two  arts  ; but,  nevertheless,  this  is  done,  not  only  in 
sculpture,  but  in  the  graphic  arts.  The  reply  is  that 
no  hard-and-fast  rule  can  be  laid  down,  and  that  a great 
artist  cannot  be  bound  by  trammels  of  the  kind.  He 
may  throw  them  over,  as  the  dramatic  poets  threw  over 
the  dramatic  unities.  It  is  sufficient  to  remember  that 
the  general  feeling  of  mankind  has,  in  all  ages,  called 
for  the  practice.  It  has  received  the  sanction  of  the 
designers  and  makers  of  the  most  beautiful  decorative 
work  of  Greece,  of  Egypt,  of  Assyria,  of  mediaeval 
times,  of  the  painted  monumental  figures  of  the 
renaissance,  of  the  pure  Japanese  taste,  and  now  in 
recent  years  it  is  practised  by  the  best  of  those  who 
have  assisted  in  the  revival  of  ivory  sculpture,  to  which 
our  next  chapter  will  be  devoted.  The  great  test  is  the 
reserve,  discrimination,  and  restraint,  which  are  of  im- 
portance to  preserve  it  from  the  suspicion  of  vulgarity, 
and  it  must  not  be  purely  imitative.  We  do  not  wish 
388 


COLOURING  AND  STAINING 

to  produce  a pictorial  effect,  and  to  forget  that  it  is 
sculpture.  There  are  certain  necessary  proprieties  and 
distinctions  to  be  observed.  Such  distinctions  are  not 
arbitrary,  but  are  the  result  of  the  observation  and  con- 
clusions of  ages.  The  province  of  sculpture  is  to 
represent  by  form,  and  this,  and  not  the  convention  of 
perspective,  must  predominate.  Few  need  to  be  told 
nowadays  that  it  is  not  within  the  province  of  painting 
to  raise  certain  portions  of  a picture,  as  one  sees,  for 
example,  in  the  not  uncommon  representations  of  dead 
game  hanging  from  a nail  on  a wall.  Coloured  wax- 
work  is  inferior  as  sculpture,  because  it  approaches  too 
nearly  nature,  and  yet  is  never  so  true  as  to  deceive  in 
reality.  It  is  impossible,  also,  to  quarrel  with  those 
who  oppose  the  painted  statuettes  of  Spanish  art,  even 
if  the  carving  or  colouring  should  be  by  an  Alonso 
Cano  or  a Montanes,  or  by  the  skill  of  the  best  painters 
of  the  time. 

That  the  Japanese  should  excel  in  the  practice  of 
staining  ivory  is  no  more  than  we  should  expect  from 
an  artistic  people,  possessed  of  such  refined  taste.  We 
find,  perhaps,  stained  ivory  more  usual  in  their  netsukes, 
okimono,  and  inlaid  lacquer  work,  than  the  use  of  colour 
laid  on,  and  it  is  evident  that  they  are  acquainted  with 
methods  which  are  unknown  to  ourselves.  The  en- 
graving of  such  things  in  light  lines  filled  in  with 
black  is  also  remarkable  in  refinement  and  delicacy. 

It  has  become  increasingly  more  difficult  to  acquire 
fine  specimens  of  ancient  and  mediaeval  ivory  sculpture, 
because  so  many  great  collections  have  been  broken  up 
and  dispersed  by  private  sale  or  by  auction  during  the 
last  fifty  years.  The  most  remarkable  examples  from 
these  have  been  bought  by  the  museums  of  the  great 
capitals,  and  there  is  little  chance  that  they  should  ever 
again  come  into  the  market.  The  British,  South  Ken- 
sington, and  the  Wallace  Museums  have  in  this  way 
added  to  their  collections,  the  two  first  at  prices  which 

389 


IVORIES 

were  ridiculously  low  compared  with  those  which  speci- 
mens of  the  highest  class  will  realise  nowadays. 

The  British  Museum  was  singularly  deficient  in 
ivories  until  in  the  year  1856  it  purchased  the  greater 
part  of  the  then  unrivalled  collection  of  the  late  Mr. 
William  Masked.  More  than  two-thirds  of  those  which 
the  museum  now  possesses,  and  certainly  a large  number 
of  the  most  important,  had  previously  been  collected  by 
him.  Besides  those  to  which  reference  has  been  made 
in  the  present  volume,  other  noteworthy  pieces  now  in 
the  museum  are  a Byzantine  plaque  of  the  ninth  century 
representing  the  raising  of  Lazarus,  some  admirable 
thirteenth  and  fourteenth  centuries  Burgundian  plaques 
in  open-work,  very  many  varieties  of  chess  and  draughts 
men,  an  extremely  fine  Italian  triptych  in  bone,  of  large 
dimensions,  and  many  mediaeval  caskets  and  mirror 
cases.  The  South  Kensington  Museum  was  principally 
enriched  by  numerous  purchases  from  the  very  large 
and  important  collection  of  the  late  Mr.  John  Webb, 
and  by  some  of  the  finest  examples  from  the  equally 
important  treasures  dispersed  at  the  Meyrick,  Soltikoff, 
and  Spitzer  sales.  The  Liverpool  ivories  are  chiefly 
due  to  the  munificence  of  Mr.  Joseph  Mayer,  who 
bequeathed  to  the  museum  the  famous  Fejervary  collec- 
tion which  he  had  acquired  en  bloc.  The  mediaeval 
ivories  at  Hertford  House  are  not  many  in  number, 
but,  as  would  be  expected,  they  are  all  of  fine  quality, 
and  without  exception  remarkable  for  their  extremely 
fine  condition. 

The  ivories  in  the  Ashmolean  at  Oxford  were  col- 
lected by  Elias  Ashmole  more  than  two  centuries  ago, 
and  have  received  hardly  any  additions  since  that  time. 
They  number  nearly  twenty  pieces,  and  they  possess  an 
additional  interest  from  the  fact  that  they  are  all  of 
English  workmanship.  There  are  a chessman  and 
two  remarkable  draughtsmen,  statuettes,  diptychs,  and 
plaques  of  the  fourteenth  century,  a crozier  head,  a 
390 


THE  GREAT  COLLECTIONS 

mirror  case,  and  the  thirteenth  - century  seal  of  the 
archdeaconry  of  Merioneth.  An  English  draughtsman 
is  in  the  Cambridge  Fitzwilliam  Museum  and  also 
a curious  plaque  of  our  Lord  and  the  Blessed  Virgin 
with  Latin  inscriptions  in  Anglo-Saxon  characters. 
The  Bodleian  Library  at  Oxford  possesses  three  fine 
book-covers  and  an  Italian  bone  triptych. 

Other  existing  English  collections  of  note  are  the 
Sneyd  at  Keele  Hall,  brought  together  by  the  late 
Rev.  Walter  Sneyd,  the  Gambier  Parry,  the  Fitz-Henry 
and  the  Salting  (now  in  great  part  in  the  loan  collection 
of  the  Kensington  Museum),  the  Morrison,  Goldsmidt, 
and  Rothschild.  The  collections  of  the  late  Mr.  George 
Field  and  Mr.  R.  Goff,  who  exhibited  largely  at  the 
famous  loan  exhibition  at  Kensington  in  1862  and  were 
remarkable  for  post-renaissance  work,  especially  in  the 
style  of  Fiammingo,  have  since  been  dispersed.  The 
greater  part  of  Mr.  Webb’s  fine  ivories,  numbering 
some  160  pieces  of  the  highest  quality,  and  including 
the  beautiful  Meretense  (Symmachorum)  leaf  of  diptych, 
was  also  shown  at  that  exhibition.  The  very  fine 
Gibson-Carmichael  collection  which  included  the  famous 
Vierge  oiivrante  of  Boubon  came  under  the  hammer  so 
recently  as  the  year  1902.  Oscott  College,  besides  the 
crucifix  already  described,  possesses  several  interesting 
ivories,  especially  those  which  have  come  to  it  through 
its  connection  with  the  Portuguese  and  their  colonies. 
Amongst  them  is  an  old  Chinese  pestle  and  mortar, 
similar  to  that  at  Kensington,  already  illustrated 
(plate  Ixxv.) ; a curious  turned  cup  used,  according  to 
Portuguese  custom,  in  giving  water  to  communicants  ; 
a charming  Madonna  and  child,  probably  Italian 
eighteenth  - century  work  ; some  figures  by  native 
Christians  of  the  Portuguese  colonies,  and  a very 
curious  grace-cup,  with  cover,  mounted  in  silver  and 
carved  with  sacred  subjects. 

In  Italy  theVatican  Museum  is  unrivalled  for  classical 

391 


IVORIES 


statuettes  and  for  examples — amongst  the  very  few 
in  existence — of  antique  ivory  sculpture  and  for  early 
Christian  caskets  and  other  work,  besides  a large  number 
of  very  important  Byzantine  and  mediaeval  ivories,  both 
religious  and  secular.  Other  interesting  pieces  in  Rome 
are  at  the  Minerva  and  Barberini  libraries  and  in  the 
museum  of  the  Collegio  Romano,  and  the  Museo  Kir- 
cheriano  has  a number  of  early  Christian  caskets. 
Ravenna  possesses  in  the  cathedral  the  famous  chair 
of  Maximianus  and  several  interesting  examples  in  the 
public  museum.  Bologna  has  two  important  collections 
at  the  University  and  in  the  municipal  museum.  Milan 
is  rich  in  examples  at  the  Duomo,  the  Brera  Museum, 
and  the  Trevulzi  palace,  and  the  basilica  of  San 
Ambrogio  has  an  important  early  Christian  diptych. 
Reference  has  already  been  made  to  the  ivories  at 
Monza.  The  Naples  Museum  has  several  classical 
examples,  and  in  Florence  the  Carrand  collection  at 
the  Bargello  is  most  important.  To  the  above  it  must 
suffice  to  name  Lucca,  Novara,  and  Aosta,  which 
possess  leaves  of  consular  diptychs.  Several  museums 
in  Italy  are  remarkable  for  Byzantine  caskets  in  the 
style  of  the  Veroli  at  Kensington. 

The  Bibliotheque  Nationale  of  Paris  has  eight  con- 
sular diptychs,  or  leaves  of  diptychs,  and  the  famous 
Charlemagne  chessmen.  The  Louvre  is  remarkable  for 
Nineveh,  Egypt,  and  other  antique  ivories,  for  charming 
mediaeval  statuettes  of  the  Virgin,  and  other  pieces  of 
a large  collection  of  mediaeval  ivories,  not  to  be  matched 
elsewhere,  amongst  them  the  group  of  the  coronation 
of  the  Virgin,  the  descent  from  the  cross,  and  the  Savoy 
harp.  There  is  also  the  fine  and  very  large  Poissy 
retable.  The  Cluny  Museum  is  scarcely  less  rich,  and 
the  city  of  Paris  has  lately  come  into  possession  of  the 
famous  collection  of  M.  Dutuit,  of  Rouen.  The  museums 
at  Lille,  Reims,  Chartres,  Lyon,  Orleans,  Dijon,  and 
Narbonne  possess  more  or  less  important  collections 
392 


THE  GREAT  COLLECTIONS 

and  specimens,  and  in  addition  the  cathedrals  of  Reims, 
Laon,  Troyes,  Angers,  Sens,  and  Nancy  include  historic 
ivories  in  their  treasuries,  and  the  same  may  be  said  of 
churches  at  Auch,  Avignon,  and  Mareuil-en-Brie. 

In  Brussels  all  the  ancient  and  mediaeval  ivories 
have  been  transferred  to  the  Mus6e  du  Cinquant^naire 
at  the  Exhibition  buildings.  The  most  important 
amongst  a not  very  numerous  collection  are  the  Stave- 
lot  combs,  a diptych  of  the  ninth  century,  a reliquary 
of  the  twelfth  century  in  the  shape  of  a Romanesque 
church,  and  an  Italian  casket  in  the  style  of  the  Veroli 
at  Kensington. 

In  Germany  the  principal  ivory  collections  are  at 
the  Kunstkammer  and  Royal  Library  in  Berlin,  the 
Dresden  green  vaults,  and  the  Bavarian  National 
Museum  at  Munich.  There  are,  besides,  the  ducal  and 
grand-ducal  museums,  amongst  others,  at  Karlsruhe, 
Darmstadt,  and  Gotha,  and  in  all  the  German  museums 
ivory  sculpture  of  the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth  cen- 
turies is  profusely  represented.  Combs  of  historical 
interest  are  to  be  found  in  the  cathedrals  and  churches 
at  Bamberg,  of  St.  Ulrich  at  Augsburg,  at  Elbingen, 
Osnabruck,  and  Quedlinburg.  In  Austria  it  is  curious 
to  note  the  number  of  pastoral  staves  which  are  pre- 
served in  monasteries : among  them  those  of  Admont 
in  Styria,  of  Altenburg,  Gottweitz,  Kloster  Neuburg 
(Vienna),  Raigern,  Nonnberg  and  St.  Peters  (Salzburg), 
and  Swetl.  Other  great  collections  abroad  are  the 
Basilewski,  now  in  the  museum  of  the  Hermitage, 
St.  Petersburg,  the  collections  of  the  Rothschilds,  and, 
in  Prance,  those  of  Baron  Oppenheim,  of  Count  de 
Valencia,  and  of  MM.  Cottreau,  Corroyer,  Boy,  Gamier, 
Aymard,  and  Bardac. 


393 


CHAPTER  XIX 


THE  NINETEENTH  CENTURY  AND  THE 
PRESENT  DAY 

IT  will  come  as  a surprise,  perhaps,  to  many  people 
to  hear  that  in  this  present  twentieth  century  sculp- 
ture in  ivory  can  be  considered  worthy  of  any  con- 
sideration, or,  to  put  it  otherwise,  that  it  is  practised 
by  artists  of  distinction.  They  will  be  aware  of  the 
neglect  into  which  the  art  had  long  fallen,  and  although 
the  use  of  ivory  for  such  prosaic  things  as  billiard- 
balls,  paper-knives,  the  backs  of  brushes,  and  other 
objects  of  utility  which  we  are  accustomed  to  see  in 
shop-windows  is  well  known,  it  would  appear  to  be 
almost  entirely  forgotten  as  a material  for  serious  sculp- 
ture. It  is  true  that  Dieppe  is  still  famous  as  a centre 
of  ivory  carving,  that  crucifixes  and  figures,  fansticks 
and  nick-nacks  from  thence  are  abundant  enough,  that 
Chinese  and  Indian  productions  fill  a void  of  a certain 
kind,  and  that  modern  Japanese  figures  of  a better  type 
than  the  latter  command  comparatively  high  prices. 
But  it  is  also  true  that,  for  one  cause  or  another,  ivory 
carving  has  been  neglected — it  would  not  be  right  to 
say  despised — for  many  years  by  great  sculptors  m 
marble  and  bronze.  It  was  relegated  to  the  position 
of  an  industry,  and  during  the  three  centuries  or  more 
which  have  gone  by  since,  as  has  been  shown,  ivory 
sculptors  occupied  a position  inferior  to  none  amongst 
those  who  practised  what  have  been  called  the  minor 

394 


THE  PRESENT  DAY 

arts — a misnomer,  for  they  are  often  lesser  only  in  point 
of  size — during  all  this  lapse  of  time  the  immense  out- 
put of  the  beautiful  material  was  restricted  in  its  use 
either  to  objects  of  utility  upon  which  it  was  not  thought 
worth  while  to  lavish  decoration  of  any  kind,  or — sO'  far 
as  public  taste  is  concerned — was  only  good  enough  for 
the  manufacture  of  that  which  we  know  by  the  terms 
''articles  de  Paris"  or  "de  Dieppe" \ bazaar  or  chimney 
ornaments  with  pretensions  to  nothing  beyond  prettiness. 

Yet,  speaking  principally  of  the  preceding  century 
to  our  own,  even  while  the  art  slumbered,  isolated 
examples  from  the  hands  of  capable  artists  appeared 
from  time  to  time  at  the  exhibitions  of  the  salons  and 
academies  of  the  great  capitals  of  the  world.  Now  and 
again  a figure  or  two  might  be  observed  at  the  Royal 
Academy,  or  some  modest  attempt  at  decorative  work 
managed  to  insinuate  itself  at  an  arts  and  crafts  exhibi- 
tion. But  they  are  not  the  fashion  ; they  attract  some 
desultory  attention,  are  acquired  by  a discerning  col- 
lector, disappear,  and  are  forgotten  by  the  public  at 
large.  Fashion,  of  course,  has  much  to  do  with  neglect 
of  the  kind,  and  to  this  must  be  added  the  conservatism 
of  the  authorities  of  our  great  public  collections.  In 
London  not  one  of  our  permanent  museums  exhibits 
an  example  of  modern  ivory  sculpture — with  one  excep- 
tion. There  is  in  the  South  Kensington  Museum  an 
ivory  parasol  handle : French  art  of  the  middle  of  the 
nineteenth  century.  We  have  no  museum  like  the 
Luxembourg  at  Paris,  there  is  no  fashionable  lead,  and 
the  encouragement  of  ivory  sculpture  would  appear  not 
to  be  within  the  terms  of  the  Chantrey  bequest. 

At  universal  exhibitions — certainly  up  to  that  at 
Paris  in  1900- — ivory  carving  has  been  classed  with 
leather-work,  brush-ware,  basket-work,  and  a number 
of  other  industries.  So  that  to  deepen  the  irony  a dis- 
tinguished sculptor  (Moreau-Vauthier  was  such  a one 
at  the  exhibition  of  1887)  who  might  find  himself  placed 

395 


IVORIES 

on  the  jury  of  the  division  would  be  called  upon  to 
adjudicate  on  the  decorative  sewing  of  a boot  or  the 
value  of  a carved  meerschaum  pipe,  while  a leather 
merchant  would  pronounce  on  the  merit  of  a piece  of 
sculpture.  It  is  little  wonder  then  that  artists  of  dis- 
tinction declined  to  exhibit  under  such  conditions  and 
that  the  public  should  remain  in  ignorance.  Nor,  again, 
is  this  general  ignorance  lessened  by  the  fact  that  it 
often  happens  that  the  work  in  ivory  of  our  best  sculp- 
tors goes  straight  from  the  studio  to  the  galleries  of 
those  for  whom  it  has  been  executed  without  having 
acquired  the  publicity  of  the  salon  or  academy  of  the 
year. 

However  this  may  all  be,  it  is  certain  that  it  is  very 
little  known  that  the  most  distinguished  amongst  our 
sculptors  have  been  accustomed  to  work  in  ivory. 
Some  general  account  of  the  position  in  which  the  art 
now  stands  may  not  be,  therefore,  without  interest  or 
advantage.  Further  than  this,  it  will  be  attempted  to 
show  that  a real  renaissance  and  a revived  interest  in 
ivory  sculpture  have  taken  place  within  recent  years 
which  bid  fair  to  raise  the  state  into  which  it  had  fallen 
and  to  regain  for  it  the  position  which  it  had  ceased  to 
occupy  during  the  last  three  centuries. 

Up  to  about  the  last  quarter  of  the  nineteenth  cen- 
tury ivory  carving  seems  to  have  been  principally  in  the 
hands  of  the  leading  gold  and  silver  smiths — such  great 
houses,  for  instance,  as  Froment-Meurice  or  Falize,  in 
Paris — who  employed  in  their  workshops,  no  doubt,  the 
best  talent  they  could  find  to  carry  out  ideas  which  they 
considered  suitable  to  the  public  taste  of  the  period. 
The  most  important,  perhaps,  amongst  those  who  then 
worked  was  Augustin  Moreau-Vauthier,  who  enjoyed  a 
considerable  reputation  and  had  numerous  pupils  and 
followers.  The  carvers  of  the  Dieppe  school  were  also 
prominent,  and  there  will  be  occasion  to  allude  again  to 
some  of  these,  for  they  belong  also  to  the  century  which 
396 


THE  PRESENT  DAY 


has  just  begun.  We  find  in  1854  two  statuettes — a 
Venus  and  a dancing  P.acchante — executed  by  Froment 
Meurice  for  Prince  Anatole  Demidoff,  modelled  by 
Feucheres,  and  carved  in  ivory  by  Soitoux.  Belleteste 
made  copies  of  such  things  as  the  groups  of  the  “Four 
Seasons”  at  Versailles  and  there  is  a figure  of  an  old 
man  dying,  by  his  pupil  Meugniot,  in  1829,  in  the 
museum  of  the  Louvre.  Pradier,  who  died  in  1852,  is 
credited  with  many  ivory  figures,  and  about  that  time 
the  portrait  medallions  of  Desrieux  showed  that  that 
fashion  had  not  yet  gone  out.  By  Baron  Triqueti  also, 
to  whom  is  due  the  carving  of  the  high  altar  at  the 
Invalides,  we  have  a large  figure  in  the  British  Museum. 
The  Louvre  has  also  a St.  Theresa,  by  the  elder  Rosset 
of  Dieppe.  In  Italy  Giuseppe  Maria  Bonzanigo  (1740- 
1820)  had  a large  following.  He  carved  also  in  wood, 
and  is  distinguished  principally  for  microscopic  work, 
flowers,  fruit,  bracelets,  boxes,  and  the  like.  There  is 
a medallion  portrait  by  him,  in  the  Louvre,  of  the 
Empress  Marie  Louise.  Moreau-Vauthier,  amongst 
other  things,  exhibited  at  the  Paris  Salon  in  1881  a 
“ Fortuna,”  in  1885  a figure  personifying  painting,  and 
in  1889  a bust  of  which  the  goldsmith’s  work  in  gold, 
silver,  and  damascened  iron,  and  set  with  topazes  and 
tourmalines,  was  by  the  Maison  Falize.  The  Luxem- 
bourg galleries  acquired  his  excellent  “ Gallia,”  and  it 
seems  that  there  was  at  the  time  a strong  and  reason- 
able remonstrance  because  it  bore  not  his  name,  but  that 
of  the  commercial  house.  He  died  in  1893. 

There  is,  of  the  last  century,  one  important  piece 
which  calls  for  special  notice,  because  it  was  an  early 
attempt  to  reintroduce  that  system  of  the  combination 
of  ivory  with  precious  materials  which  is  usually  termed 
chryselephantine  sculpture.  In  the  revival  of  ivory  carv- 
ing, to  which  attention  will  presently  be  devoted,  the 
tendency  to  this  description  of  work  and  its  use  by  our 
best  sculptors  in  preference  to  the  employment  of  ivory 

397 


IVORIES 

alone  is  remarkable.  It  is  sufficient  to  state  the  fact 
without  inquiring  whether  we  should  wish  it  otherwise. 
The  direction  which  the  revival  may  take  may  well  be 
left  to  the  sculptors. 

The  reconstruction  on  a reduced  scale  of  the  famous 
gigantic  figure  of  Minerva — one  of  the  great  chrysele- 
phantine statues  by  Phidias  described  by  Pausanias — 
was  exhibited  at  the  Paris  Exhibition  of  1857.  It  was 
designed  by  M.  Simart  and  made  by  Froment  Meurice 
to  the  order  of  the  Duke  de  Luynes,  no  doubt  inspired 
by  the  descriptions  and  directions  given  by  Quatremere 
de  Quincy  in  his  Le  Jupiter  Olynipien. 

In  the  best  age  of  Greek  art  the  mixture  of  material 
was  undoubtedly  common.  Decoration  was  applied,  or 
let  in,  to  goldsmith’s  or  other  metal  work.  Ivory  was 
inlaid  with  these  materials  as  they  themselves  were 
inlaid  with  ivory.  In  Donatello’s  time  he  practised  the 
method  himself.  Bronzes  were  gilded,  eyes  of  glass, 
enamel,  or  ivory  were  let  in.  From  Pausanias  we  hear 
of  the  famous  ivory  chest  of  Cypselus  sent  as  an  offer- 
ing to  the  temple  at  Olympia  about  600  b.c.  It  was  of 
cedar  covered  with  ivory  and  with  small  figures,  in  five 
rows,  of  gold,  illustrative  of  mythical  stories  and  legends. 
Quatremere  de  Quincy  in  his  Jupiter  Olynipien  gives 
us  a reconstruction  of  this  casket,  after  the  description 
of  Pausanias.  Phidias  and  his  contemporaries  made 
several  gigantic  statues.  The  Athene  and  others  were 
seen  by  Pausanias  in  the  second  century  a.d.,  and  they 
probably  existed  for  two  centuries  more,  until  the  gold 
they  contained  was  melted  down  to  make  the  vessels 
and  ornaments  of  the  newly  established  religion.  There 
is  an  existing  letter  of  Julian  the  apostate,  who  men- 
tions that  he  had  seen  them.  The  account  given 
by  Pausanias  of  the  Athene  is  rather  vague,  but  we 
gather  that  the  flesh  was  of  ivory,  the  drapery  and 
armour  of  gold.  In  her  right  hand  the  goddess  held 
a Victory,  four  cubits  high,  and  every  part  of  the 
398 


THE  PRESENT  DAY 

I gold  was  worked  and  embossed.  The  eyes  were  of 
marble,  perhaps  some  semi  - precious  stone,  such  as 
, lapis-  lazuli.  The ''  dimensions  of  the  great  Jupiter 
I have  already  been  given.  Several  other  ivory  or  chrys- 
i elephantine  statues  at  Corinth,  Mycenae,  and  Aigina 
are  mentioned  by  Pausanias  and  other  ancient  writers. 
Amongst  them  are  a wooden  statue  of  Minerva,  of 
which  the  hands  were  of  ivory  ; a Venus  by  Praxiteles; 
a Castor  and  Pollux,  and  other  deities  at  Sicyon  and 
Argos ; the  Hours,  a Themis,  a Diana ; an  Endymion 
entirely  of  ivory  except  the  robe ; an  ivory  throne  with 
a sitting  figure  of  a virgin,  near  Tritia  in  Achaia,  and 
a table  of  ivory.  We  learn  also  the  names  of  some 
of  the  sculptors — Phidias  and  Praxiteles,  Polycletus, 
Endoos  of  Athens,  the  brothers  Medon,  Dorycleides, 
a Hebe  by  Naucydes,  a Minerva  by  Endius. 

Simart’s  reproduction  of  the  Minerva  of  Phidias  was 
of  ivory  and  silver,  nearly  nine  feet  in  height,  the  face, 
neck,  arms,  feet,  the  head  of  Medusa  on  the  shield,  and 
the  torso  of  Victory  of  ivory ; the  lance,  helmet,  and 
serpent  of  bronze,  and  the  tunic  and  shield  of  silver, 
repousses  and  chased.  The  silver  work  was  executed  by 
Duponchel.  The  figure  is  described  by  Labarte,  in  his 
Histoire  cies  Arts  industriels,  who  says,  “ M.  Simart, 
who  has  executed  it,  has  shown  himself  to  be  a worthy 
interpreter  of  Phidias,  and  has,  by  deep  study,  recon- 
structed it  in  the  true  spirit  of  antique  art.” 

The  revival  of  ivory  carving  in  quite  recent  times, 
to  which  allusion  has  been  made,  is  due  in  great  part 
to  Belgian  sculptors.  It  is  fitting  that  it  should  be  so, 
for  to  Flemish  artists,  both  at  home  and  in  other 
countries,  we  owe  probably  much  of  the  finest  work 
of  the  middle  ages;  and  in  the  seventeenth  centuiy  they 
were  also,  as  has  been  shown,  immeasurably  ahead  of 
others,  whatever  the  general  condition  of  the  art  may 
have  been.  The  decline  in  the  use  of  ivory  by  sculptors 
in  later  times,  when  the  plastic  arts  had  advanced  in 

399 


IVORIES 

other  directions,  may  perhaps  have  been  due,  in  some 
measure,  to  the  scarcity  of  the  material,  the  high  price, 
and  the  consequent  falling  off  in  the  number  oi praticiens 
who  were  capable  of  working  it  from  the  sculptor’s 
model. 

The  acquisition  of  the  Congo  State  by  the  King  of 
the  Belgians,  and  the  large  amount  of  ivory  imported 
into  the  Antwerp  market,  inspired  the  king,  on  the 
recommendation  of  M.  van  Eetevelde,  Secretary  of 
State  for  the  Congo,  with  the  happy  idea  of  the  en- 
couragement of  a long-neglected  art.  For  this  purpose 
tusks  of  the  finest  description  were  placed  at  the  dis- 
position of  the  leading  sculptors,  and  the  desire  of  the 
king  was  well  known  that  efforts  should  be  made  to 
revive  the  use  of  ivory  for  sculpture,  both  alone  and 
in  conjunction  with  other  materials,  and  also  for  furni- 
ture, for  caskets,  and  other  decorative  objects.  The 
response  was  immediate  and  gratifying,  and  the  first 
results  were  exhibited  at  the  International  Exhibition 
at  Antwerp  and  at  the  succeeding  one  at  Brussels  in 
1887.  From  these  a selection  was  made  and  is  now 
permanently  installed  at  the  exhibition  of  the  Congo 
State  in  the  Belgian  capital.  It  is  unnecessary  to  trace 
the  further  steps  which  ensued.  It  will  suffice  to  give 
some  particulars  regarding  the  work  of  the  most  pro- 
minent Belgian  artists  who  contributed.  In  so  doing 
it  will  not  be  within  our  limits  to  refer  except  in  the 
briefest  manner  to  the  artists  themselves  or  to  the  place 
which  they  hold  as  sculptors  in  other  materials. 

' No  less  than  forty  Belgian  sculptors  exhibited  ivory 
sculpture  at  the  Brussels  Exhibition  of  1887.  At  their 
head  was  Julien  Dillens,  who  has,  perhaps,  the  greatest 
reputation  amongst  all  the  artist  sculptors  of  Belgium. 
His  T’serclaes  monument  is  well  known,  and  his  statuary 
^vork — bas-reliefs,  fountains,  groups,  and  figures — has 
been  acquired  by  the  State,  and  adorns  the  capital  and 
other  cities  in  the  kingdom.  Amongst  other  sculpture 


PLATE  LXXXV  “LA  GLOIRE.  ' KV  JULIEN  DILLENS 


THE  PRESENT  DAY 

, in  ivory  he  contributed  to  the  Brussels  Exhibition  a fine 
bust  of  Minerva  in  ivory  and  bronze,  “Allegretto” 
— a charming  nude  figure  very  far  removed  from  the 
i banality  which  is  too  frequent  in  similar  themes — and 
! an  allegorical  figure,  “ La  Gloire,”  which  is  here  illus- 
trated. And  besides  his  own  contributions  it  is  but 
right  to  record  that  Dillens  has  been  in  the  forefront  of 
the  revival  in  his  encouragement  of  others  and  in  the 
interest  which  he  has  taken  throughout  in  the  movement. 

I The  name  of  Constantin  Meunier  is  also  too  well 
I known  in  the  world  of  sculpture  to  necessitate  more  than 
I the  briefest  reference  to  his  admirable  figures  of  simple 
i models,  more  especially  those  of  field  labourers  and 
miners.  In  such  things,  besides  the  cultured  artist  one 
recognises  the  keen  observer  of  popular  types,  the  pathos 
and  truth  to  nature  which  he  gives  to  the  humblest 
subjects.  Not  less  distinguished  is  the  work  in  ivory 
i which  he  appears  to  have  taken  up  with  enthusiasm 
and  with  a real  love  of  the  material.  Not  only  so,  but 
so  far  he  has  been  contented  to  use  the  ivory  alone, 
with  no  assistance  from  the  mixture  with  other  sub- 
I stances.  From  another  point  of  view  we  are  still  more 
I indebted  to  him,  on  account  of  the  subjects  he  has 
chosen,  for  in  his  crucifix  and  in  his  “Christ  entombed” 

! — admirable  in  their  poetry  and  simplicity — he  shows 
us  that  we  need  not  fear  that  a true  devotional  spirit 
in  the  treatment  of  such  things  has  died  out : nor  can 

(we  doubt  that  the  sculptor  has  at  his  disposal  themes 
which,  rightly  used,  are  surpassed  by  no  others  and 
are  capable  of  enlisting  the  sympathy  and  admiration 
. even  of  the  least  religiously  inclined.  The  wonder  is 
I that  they  are  not  more  frequently  selected  and  that 
minor  artists  especially  should  not  appreciate  their  value 
higher  than  the  tiresome  repetitions  of  characterless 
academies  to  which  we  are  too  much  accustomed. 

In  Meunier’s  crucifix  we  have  a nearly  nude  figure, 
the  drapery  simple  and  admirably  disposed,  the  arms 

2 D 401 


IVORIES 

almost  straight.  It  is,  in  many  ways,  a new  interpreta- 
tion of  this  very  difficult  theme — a theme  which  is  so 
rarely  successful.  The  expression  of  the  face,  full  of 
suffering,  is  yet  not  painful,  but  resigned.  Nothing  is 
forced,  and  it  is  absolutely  free  from  any  mannerism. 
Such  things  are,  however,  difficult  to  describe  with 
justice  unless  aided  by  an  illustration,  and  it  must 
suffice  to  record  it. 

In  Charles  Van  der  Stappen  we  have  another  Belgian 
sculptor  of  universal  reputation.  His  “ Sphinx  de  Silence” 
is  the  first  of  the  important  pieces  of  chryselephantine 
work  which  we  have  to  notice.  The  tendency  to  use 
ivory  in  this  way  is  one  which  will  frequently  call  for 
incidental  remark  in  our  account  of  modern  ivory  carving. 
It  may  be  that  Van  der  Stappen  was  one  of  the  first — 
if  not  the  first — to  revive  the  problem.  In  the  “Sphinx” 
we  have  a bust  with  a somewhat  juvenile  expression, 
one  hand,  with  fingers  extended,  placed  at  right  angles 
to  the  lips,  as  if  to  implore  or  to  indicate  silence.  The 
face  and  visible  parts  of  the  neck  and  bust  are  carved 
from  a fine  block  of  ivory  of  beautiful  grain  and  of 
considerable  size,  but,  notwithstanding  the  size,  it  was 
necessary  to  use  another  piece  for  the  back  of  the  head. 
The  helmet  and  armour  are  of  silver  gilt,  repousses, 
and  of  excellent  design  and  execution.  There  is  little 
need  to  add  to  the  praise  which  has  been  given  to  this 
fine  piece.  The  harmony  of  the  arrangement,  the 
masterly  modelling  of  the  ivory,  and,  in  addition,  the 
general  decorative  effect,  are  quite  sufficient  to  justify 
the  remarks  which  have  been  made  concerning  the 
revival  in  Belgium  of  ivory  sculpture. 

Fernand  Khnopff  is  well  known  as  a painter  in  the 
modern  art  world.  His  contribution  to  the  collection 
of  ivories  is  in  the  nature  of  a fragment,  for  we  have  a 
face  only  in  ivory  with  small  wings,  and  wreaths  sur- 
rounding it,  of  bronze. 

The  “Venusberg”  of  Egide  Rombaux  is  somewhat 
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-FEE  AU  PAON.  BV  PHILIPPE  WOLFERS 

IVORY.  SILVER-GILT.  OI’.YLS  AND  TK.YN'SLL'CEXT  F.X.VMELS 


THE  PRESENT  DAY 

of  a tour  de  force,  considering  the  restrictions  imposed 
by  the  form  of  a tusk.  These  he  has  cleverly  surmounted 
in  his  group  of  three  nude  women  struggling  together, 
with  outstretched  limbs. 

Phillippe  Wolfers  is  a leading  Brussels  goldsmith 
who  has  a considerable  reputation  also  as  a sculptor. 
We  have  from  him,  as  we  should  expect  to  have,  some 
delightful  examples  of  ivory  carving  in  conjunction  with 
gold  and  silver,  marble,  onyx,  enamel,  and  precious 
stones.  There  are  few  things  in  art,  perhaps,  more 
difficult  to  combine  without  a suggestion  of  vulgarity, 
but  the  work  of  Wolfers  has  nothing  of  the  character 
of  that  which  bears  the  stamp  of  the  commercial  atelier. 
It  is  delicate,  refined,  and  personal,  because  as  a true 
artist  he  designs  and  executes  himself.  To  use  the 
language  of  the  bookbinder’s  craft,  he  is  his  own  forwarder 
and  finisher.  Of  this  chryselephantine  work  we  have 
from  him  a “Juno”  or  a “F6e  au  Paon”  in  ivory,  silver 
gilt,  marble,  translucent  enamels  and  jewels,  and  he  has 
taken  also  a tusk  in  its  entirety,  which  is  upheld,  as  it 
were,  by  a swan  in  bronze  in  such  a manner  that  the 
neck  and  wings  of  the  bird  embrace  it.  Mention  must 
also  be  made  of  the  elegant  ivory  and  jewelled  combs 
and  hairpins  which  he  has  designed  and  executed.  In 
his  “Twilight  hair  ornament”  we  have  one  of  his 
favourite  subjects — a bat  treated  symbolically,  with  the 
membrane  and  outline  of  the  wings  delicately  indicated. 

Charles  Samuel,  also  a leading  Belgian  sculptor, 
contributed  to  the  ivory  exhibition  a semi-draped  figure, 
“Fortuna,”  delightfully  poised,  and  bearing  a cornucopia 
in  silver  and  gold,  an  example  also  how  the  most  can  be 
made  of  a tusk.  His  other  ivory  works  are  a draped 
figure,  in  the  act  of  running,  in  ivory  and  silver-gilt ; 
“Nele,”  a bust  in  ivory  and  wood;  “ Les  lis”;  and 
“ Dawn.” 

Alphonse  van  Beurden  is  perhaps  better  known, 
as  an  ivory  sculptor,  in  England  than  in  his  own 

403 


IVORIES 

country.  In  1896  he  exhibited  at  our  Royal  Academy 
a “Bacchante,”  in  1898  a bust,  and  in  1899  “The  Snake 
Charmer.” 

A brief  enumeration  must  suffice  for  other  examples 
of  ivoi*)'  sculpture  by  Belgian  artists.  Amongst  them 
are  an  excellent  small  bust — a “ Psyche,”  a replica  of 
a marble — by  the  late  Paul  de  Vigne ; a “ Calvaire,” 
by  Henri  Boncquet,  exhibited  at  the  Paris  Salon  in 
1899  ; the  “Chr)’sis,”  a statuette  with  charming  draper}* 
from  waist  to  feet,  by  Godefroid  Devreese ; a portrait 
statuette,  by  Thomas  Mncotte ; a marriage  coffer  in 
ivory  and  bronze,  and  a full-length  “ Dead  Christ," 
in  ivor}'  and  wood,  by  x\.  de  Tombay.  Other  names 
are  Paul  Dubois,  Craco,  de  Rudder,  Jespers,  Lefever, 
A.  des  Enfans,  J.  Dupont,  WTygers,  J.  Geleyn,  Pierre 
Braecke,  and  Lagae. 

It  was  not  long  before  the  influence  of  the  Flemish 
revival  made  itself  felt  in  Paris.  The  end  of  the  nine- 
teenth centur}^  had  seen  a general  renaissance  of  the 
decorati\'e  arts,  and  what  is  known  as  I'art  moderne 
had  been  created.  Artists  of  all  kinds  confined  them- 
selves no  longer  to  one  particular  branch  of  art.  They 
began  again  to  take  advantage  of  ever}'thing  which 
could  add  beauty  to  objects  made  for  the  most  utilitarian 
purposes.  New  fantastic  forms  were  invented  to  cor- 
respond with  new  fantastic  requirements.  No  doubt 
the  modern  style  has  sometimes  been  carried  to  ex- 
tremes. It  was  inevitable  that  it  should  pass  through 
a period  of  extravagance  and  exaggeration  ; indeed,  in 
all  new  departures  exaggeration  is  at  first  almost  a 
necessity.  Thus  it  came  about  that  casting  around,  as 
it  were,  for  new  fields  to  occupy,  and  the  lead  having 
been  given,  it  was  found  that  sufficient  material  existed 
to  organise  an  exhibition  of  the  revived  art  of  ivor}* 
carving.  This  was  done — on  a modest  scale,  perhaps, 
and  with  little  blowing  of  trumpets — in  the  spring  of 
1903,  at  the  Husee  Galliera  in  Paris,  with  complete 
404 


THE  PRESENT  DAY 

success  if  we  may  judge  from  the  standing  of  the 
sculptors  who  exhibited  and  the  interest  taken  by  the 
public.  A limitation  was  made  restricting  exhibits  to 
the  last  and  present  century.  It  is  true  that  very  little 
previous  publicity  was  given,  and  French  art  was  almost 
exclusively  represented.  But  a beginning,  at  least,  was 
made. 

As  a matter  of  fact  it  cannot  be  said  that  the  pro- 
fession of  ivory  sculptor  alone  exists.  We  shall  find 
amongst  those  who  practise  it  nearly  always  a diversity 
of  talent.  They  are  painters,  designers,  enamellers, 
gold  and  silver  smiths,  and  in  the  first  place  marble  and 
bronze  sculptors. 

At  this  special  exhibition  there  was,  of  the  older 
Dieppe  school,  a really  original  head  of  a fisherman,  by 
the  elder  Graillon,  and  a group  of  the  “ Visitation,”  in 
which  the  draperies  are  excellently  treated,  by  F^lix 
Graillon.  A nude  “ Phryne,”  by  Vever,  and  a “ Frileuse,” 
by  Scailliet,  were  remarkable,  and  still  more  so  the 
“ Charmeuse,”  by  Caron,  an  essentially  Parisian  type — 
a graceful  figure,  in  which  the  delicate  character  and 
satiny  surface  of  ivory  is  singularly  appropriate  in  con- 
junction with  the  snake  in  bronze,  which  is  held  up  and 
entwines  itself  around  the  figure.  Another  group,  “Le 
Lion  amoureux,”  is  by  Gardet.  The  nude  figure  reclines, 
resting  her  head  against  that  of  the  lion,  while  she  holds 
a paw  in  one  hand  and  clips  the  claws  with  the  other. 
Amongst  other  notable  figures  were  the  “Young  girl 
of  Boussada”  by  Barrias  and  the  “Chrysis  Victrix”  by 
Allouard.  In  the  Salon  of  1902  a crucifix  had  already 
been  exhibited  by  Eugene  Bourgoin  and  a “Phoebe” 
by  Delacour,  and  in  that  of  1898  a fine  group  of  “Leda 
and  the  Swan  ” and  a St.  George  in  bronze  and  ivory 
by  Ferrary,  and  a “Japanese  girl  ” in  jade  and  ivory  by 
Ren^  Foy. 

But  amidst  a host  of  minor  work  which  cannot  now 
be  followed  in  detail  there  are  at  least  three  sculptors  of 

405 


IVORIES 

eminence,  to  some  of  whose  work  more  particular 
attention  must  be  given.  They  are  Jean  Dampt,  Theo- 
dore Riviere,  and  Madrassi.  From  such  an  artist  as 
Dampt  one  would  expect  nothing  less  than  his  beautiful 
group,  “ Paix  du  Foyer.”  It  is  in  ivory  and  wood,  a 
homely  group  of  a woman  seated  beneath  a dais,  a cat 
nestling  up  to  her,  and  a dog  leaning  familiarly  against 
her.  The  treatment  is  decorative,  and  very  admirable 
are  the  contrasts  of  the  grain  of  the  wood  against  the 
lighter  tonality  of  the  portions  which  are  carved  in 
ivory.  The  figure  itself  is  in  ivory,  the  mantle  which 
covers  her,  the  dog,  and  the  cat  of  wood.  Another 
delightful  and  well-known  group  by  the  same  artist  is 
his  “Raymondin  and  Melusine.”  It  is  executed  in  ivory 
and  steel.  A knightly  figure  in  full  armour,  the  vizor 
of  his  helmet  raised,  draws  to  him  a young  girl,  who, 
her  eyes  closed,  lifts  her  face  to  his  kiss.  The  pose  is 
charming ; the  contrast  of  the  slim  figure,  which  is  in 
ivory,  with  the  steel  arms  which  tenderly  embrace  her, 
the  mailed  hand  against  the  soft  cheek,  every  line  and 
fold  in  this  group — small  as  it  is — are  arranged  with 
great  art.  In  the  Salon  of  1902  we  had,  by  Dampt,  the 
delightful  group,  “ La  Jeunesse  ” and  the  “ Comtesse 
de  Bearn,”  a bust  in  wood  and  ivory.  More  common- 
place and  less  striking  is  the  nude  figure,  “ Femme 
couchee.”  The  girl  is  reclining,  hiding  her  face  with 
one  arm  and  raising  the  other  with  a lily  in  her  hand. 

The  position  of  Theodore  Riviere  as  a sculptor  is 
well  known,  but  it  is  less  well  known,  perhaps,  that 
it  is  not  only  recently  that  he  has  occupied  himself 
with  ivory  carving,  in  which,  like  so  many  others,  he 
would  seem  to  prefer  the  intelligent  mixture  of  precious 
materials.  His  “ Jeune  fille  de  Carthage”  is  an  arrange- 
ment of  ivory  and  white  marble,  the  ivory  for  the  flesh, 
the  marble  for  the  simple  drapery.  In  “Salammbo” 
we  have  a majestic  figure  in  ivory,  entirely  nude  but 
for  the  thick  draperies  in  bronze,  which  she  has,  as  it 
406 


PLATE  LXXXITI 


THE  PRESENT  DAY 

were,  thrown  back  from  her,  surrounding  her  in  heavy 
folds.  The  modelling  is  firm  and  decided,  the  contrast 
of  the  ivory  used  for  the  flesh  and  part  of  the  drapery, 
with  the  more  sombre  bronze,  remarkable.  Nor  could 
praise  be  too  freely  given  to  the  important  group, 
“Salammbb  chez  Math6.”  It  is  now  in  the  Luxembourg. 
Other  groups  and  figures  by  Theodore  Riviere  are  a 
“Fra  Angelico”  in  ivory,  stone,  and  marble,  the“Vierge 
de  Sunnam”  in  ivory,  marble,  and  goldsmith’s  work,  the 
“ Brodeuse  Arabe,”  a portrait  statuette  of  the  Countess 
Rdcop^  and  a “ Loie  Fuller”  dancing.  Madrassi  has 
a full-length  figure  in  two  materials,  “ La  Reconnais- 
sance,” the  ivory  used  for  the  face,  bust,  and  arms,  and 
a “Th(^odora”  ; and  another  excellent  portrait  figure  is 
by  Reymond  de  Broutelles. 

At  a first  exhibition  it  is  of  course  inevitable  that 
a considerable  quantity  of  inferior  work  should  find 
admission.  With  a new  departure,  as  it  were,  there  is 
certain  to  be  a tendency  to  accept  anything,  merely 
because  it  happens  to  be  in  ivory.  This  was  especially 
to  be  noticed  in  the  case  of  the  productions  of  com- 
mercial houses.  The  public  calls  for  exuberant  display, 
it  is  fond  of  richness  and  complication,  of  all  sorts  of 
materials  mixed  together  without  discernment,  and  the 
great  goldsmiths’  establishments  supplied  these  things 
in  profusion.  The  same  criticism  must  apply  to  the 
greater  number  of  the  pretentious  adaptations  of  ivory 
to  jewellery,  to  combs,  hairpins,  fans,  and  the  like. 
There  is  also  the  tendency  to  use  ivory  reduced  to 
transparent  fineness.  This  is  seen,  for  example,  in  a 
fan,  the  sticks  and  guards  formed  of  butterflies  with 
outspread  wings.  Ivory  is  the  last  material  to  be  used 
for  such  attempted  realism.  But  among  the  crowd  of 
articles  of  adornment  or  for  toilet  use  an  important 
exception  must  be  made.  It  will  suffice  to  say — though 
the  temptation  to  go  farther  is  difficult  to  repress — that 
such  a great  artist  as  Lalique  was  represented.  A few 

407 


IVORIES 

years  ago  he  was  unknown,  but  it  is  now  unneces- 
sary to  add  a word  to  the  reputation  which  he  has 
achieved.  That  his  exquisite  taste,  his  refinement,  and 
his  creative  power  should  turn  to  ivory  is  of  course 
certain.  Nothing  less  than  a dissection  of  the  jewelled 
ornaments  which  his  marvellous  originality  has  con- 
ceived and  executed  could  do  justice  to  his  work  and  to 
the  possibilities  which  may  arise  from  it.  This  is  more 
than  the  space  at  our  disposal  will  permit.  But  those 
who  are  acquainted  with  it  will  be  as  well  able  to  judge 
for  themselves  the  importance  which  it  may  have  in  the 
history  of  ivory  sculpture.  Nor  can  the  name  of  Boutet 
de  Monvel,  who  has  used  ivory  in  many  charming 
designs,  be  omitted. 

We  come  now  to  England,  and  if  it  cannot  be  said 
that  we  can  produce  an  extended  list  of  workers  in 
ivory,  on  the  other  hand  it  will  be  admitted  that  those 
whose  work  remains  to  be  noticed  are  in  the  first  rank 
amongst  our  sculptors.  No  pretension  is  here  made  to 
compile  a complete  list. 

The  pages  of  the  catalogues  of  the  exhibitions  of 
the  Royal  Academy  during  the  last  ten  years  or  so  of 
the  nineteenth  century — it  would  be  hardly  necessary  to 
go  farther  back — will  show,  from  time  to  time,  solitary 
instances  of  art  in  ivory.  We  shall  find  in  1896  the 
work  of  the  Belgian  sculptor  Van  Beurden,  and  again 
in  the  two  following  years,  when  there  was  also  a 
“ Despair  of  Cleopatra,”  by  Richard  Garbe.  In  1899 
we  have  the  group  by  Harry  Bates,  in  1900  Frampton’s 
“ Lamia,”  in  1901  the  frieze  by  Lynn  Jenkins,  and 
“Andromeda,”  by  Clovis  Delacour.  In  1893  Gerome, 
who  was  an  honorary  Royal  Academician,  had  exhibited 
his  life-size  “ Bellona”  in  ivory  and  bronze.  Now  and 
again  there  are  minor  ornamental  works,  such  as  a 
lady’s  belt  in  ivory  and  silver,  and  some  medallions 
by  Garbe,  or,  in  1897,  a mirror  frame  by  the  Countess 
Fddora  Gleichen.  And  we  may  suppose  that  other 
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THE  PRESENT  DAY 

things  would  have  gone  direct  from  the  artist’s  studio 
into  the  hands  of  the  purchaser.  In  any  case,  it  must 
be  admitted  that  the  list  is  not  a lengthy  one.  But  if 
not  extensive,  it  makes  up,  as  has  been  said,  in  quality. 

In  noticing  English  ivory  sculpture  we  shall  be 
again  struck  by  the  predilection  for  using  it  in  conjunc- 
tion with  other  materials.  Again,  also,  we  shall  find 
amongst  the  artists  the  diversity  of  talent  that  dis- 
tinguishes them  not  only  as  clever  statuary  sculptors, 
but  skilled  as  painters  and  enamellers,  in  gold  and 
silver  smiths’  work,  or  in  the  execution  of  bas-reliefs, 
plaques,  and  medals.  It  is  hardly  surprising  that  the 
decorative  character  of  the  mingling  of  materials  should 
appeal  to  this  versatility  of  genius.  It  is  a difficult 
method  to  handle,  but  we  know  that  in  the  use  of  metal 
or  in  adding  colour  or  jewellery  such  an  artist  as 
Frampton,  for  example,  will  not  offend  by  vulgarity. 
He  does  not  appeal  to  purely  sensuous  feelings.  There 
is  no  question  of  trickery  or  attempt  to  deceive,  nor 
will  the  effect  be  tawdry  or  claptrap.  And,  then,  how 
charmingly  applicable  is  such  a system — more  than 
marble  or  bronze — to  small  sculpture ! In  the  leaning 
towards  modernity  could  anything  be  more  suggestive 
than  the  introduction  of  portrait  figures  of  everyday 
life  or  the  poetic  ideals  such  as  the  labourers  and  miners 
of  Constantin  Meunier?  We  cannot  help  thinking  of 
the  Tanagra  figurines,  but  can  there  be  any  reason  why 
the  contrasts  and  tonalities  of  the  flesh  and  draperies 
should  not  be  harmoniously  translated  by  the  mingling 
of  ivory  with  wood  and  metals  ? It  is  another  question 
from  that  of  colouring,  and  while  it  must  be  admitted 
that  both  are  of  too  extensive  a nature  to  be  strictly 
within  the  scope  of  the  present  work,  the  allusion  to 
them  will  be  pardoned. 

The  work  of  George  Frampton  requires  but  little  in- 
troduction. He  is  an  all-round  craftsman  who  astonishes 
us  by  the  variety  and  fertility  of  his  invention.  He 

409 


IVORIES 

appears  to  be  completely  unshackled  by  the  traditions 
of  the  past  and  the  usages  imposed  by  convention.  It 
has  been  said  that  he  has  been  influenced  by  the  study 
of  Donatello.  That  may  be,  but  in  the  main  it  must 
be  seen  that  he  goes  to  nature.  There  is,  after  all,  an 
emancipation  from  tradition  and  precedents  which  is  in 
itself  logical  and  by  no  means  a renunciation.  Through- 
out all  his  work  we  find  the  note  of  simplicity  and  exact 
knowledge,  the  intuition  which  knows  when  to  be  lavish 
and  where  to  stop.  In  the  mingling  of  materials 
Frampton  has  already  given  us  numerous  examples  in 
his  other  work.  We  need  only  recall  his  St.  George 
in  bronze,  agate,  and  mother-of-pearl,  his  panels,  or  his 
figure  of  Dame  Alice  Owen  in  bronze  and  marble. 

The  bust  of  “ Lamia,”  now  in  the  possession  of  Mr. 
William  Vivian,  which  is  here  illustrated,  is  an  example 
of  modern  ivory  carving  which  it  is  pleasing  to  be  able 
to  give.  The  face,  with  its  studied  serenity — cryptic, 
snake-like — is  carved  in  life-size  from  a fine  block  of 
beautifully  grained  ivory.  The  quaint  head-dress  and 
arrangement  of  the  hair  in  nets  projecting  on  either 
side  of  the  face,  in  the  style  which  was  fashionable  in 
the  reign  of  Richard  II.,  the  dress  and  covering  of  the 
shoulders  and  neck  are  of  bronze,  through  openings  in 
which  ivory  is  again  used  for  the  flesh.  The  head- 
dress is  jewelled,  and  so  also  is  the  elegant  breast  orna- 
ment, with  opals,  and  the  patina  of  the  bronze  should 
be  noticed. 

For  the  same  reasons  of  variety  in  his  work  one  is 
not  surprised  to  find  that  Alfred  Gilbert  has  applied 
himself  to  ivory  carving.  He  also  is  a goldsmith, 
notably  in  the  case  of  the  fine  epergne  which  he  made 
for  the  late  Queen.  Neither,  indeed,  has  he  disdained 
lesser  work,  such  as  the  designing  and  executing  of 
necklaces  and  other  objects  of  jewellery.  He  seems  to 
revel  in  richness  of  decoration.  Of  his  ivory,  or  mixed 
ivory  work,  the  Vivian  collection  possesses  two  excellent 
410 


THE  PRESENT  DAY 

examples.  One  is  a bust  of  a bishop  in  gilt  and 
jewelled  bronze  and  colour,  the  aged  and  wrinkled 
face  of  ivory.  The  other,  also  coloured  and  gilt,  is 
a figure  of  St.  Elizabeth,  the  roses,  in  accordance 
with  the  well-known  legend,  escaping  from  the  folds 
of  her  cloak.  Both  are  repetitions  of  the  figures  on 
the  Clarence  memorial,  but  not  exact  copies.  The 
bishop  was  to  have  been  full  length,  but  Gilbert 
changed  his  mind. 

In  Mr.  J.  Lynn  Jenkins  we  have  a young  sculptor 
who  has  executed  a number  of  works  for  public  institu- 
tions, in  several  of  which  he  has  availed  himself  of  ivory 
as  a medium.  He  has  used  it  in  a charming  manner 
in  the  frieze  which  he  made  for  the  offices  of  Lloyd’s 
Registry;  mainly  for  the  faces  and  hands  of  the  figures, 
which  are  decoratively  placed  in  bronze  panels  with 
scrolled  edges  amongst  the  main  theme — in  bronze  and 
variously  coloured  materials — of  galleys  rolling  on  the 
waves. 

Mr.  Vivian  possesses  also  two  admirable  figures  in 
which  ivory  is  mainly  or  partly  used.  The  first,  “Mors 
Janua  Vitae,”  is  by  the  late  Harry  Bates.  Life  is  repre- 
sented by  a delightfully  modelled  nude  figure  of  a girl, 
the  winged  Death  of  bronze.  And  in  “ Launcelot  and 
the  Nestling”  we  have  one  of  two  companion  statues 
by  W.  Reynolds-Stephens,  the  other  being  “ Guinevere 
and  the  Nestling.”  Launcelot  is  a knightly  figure  in 
armour.  In  his  arms  lies  a charming  naked  baby, 
which  he  holds  with  extreme  tenderness  as  he  looks 
down  on  it  with  smiling  features.  The  base  of  the 
group  is  decorated  with  the  symbolism  which  seems 
dear  to  the  artist — rough  branches  on  which  doves  are 
standing  at  intervals.  It  was  exhibited  at  the  Royal 
Academy  in  1899. 

Mr.  A.  G.  Walker  is  another  well-known  English 
sculptor  who  has  worked  in  ivory.  Mr.  Alexander 
Fisher  has  contributed  caskets,  tankards,  and  decorative 


IVORIES 

objects  to  various  exhibitions,  and  Mr.  W.  Goscombe 
John,  A.R.A.,  has  executed  some  small  work  in  this 
material. 

The  imperfection  of  the  foregoing  account  of  the 
present  condition  of  ivory  sculpture  must  be,  to  a great 
extent,  admitted.  There  has  been  as  yet  but  one  not  very 
widely  known  exhibition.  Existing  work  is  scattered  in 
various  collections,  and  it  has  been  thought  best  to  in- 
clude that  only  of  which  there  has  been  opportunity  to 
acquire  personal  knowledge.  For  this  reason  particulars 
regarding  Germany,  Italy,  and  other  foreign  countries 
have  not  been  included. 

It  is  true  that  in  order  to  justify  the  expectation  of 
a revival  of  ivory  carving  we  can  as  yet  show  com- 
paratively few  great  names  amongst  a crowd  of  medio- 
crities and  of  more  than  indifferent  work.  But  everything 
must  have  a beginning.  Sufficient  time  has  hardly 
elapsed  to  show  the  effect  of  the  direct  encouragement 
by  the  state  in  Belgium,  of  the  exhibition  in  Paris,  and 
of  the  work  of  such  men  as  Dillens  and  Dampt  and 
Frampton.  We  can  hardly  expect  that  a revival  can 
come  from  scattered  exhibits  from  time  to  time,  and 
until  more  forcible  attention  is  drawn  to  the  question 
it  would  no  doubt  be  premature  to  base  hopes  for  the 
future.  A great  deal  depends  on  the  trend  of  fashion — 
in  a word,  of  patronage.  The  most  that  can  be  said  is 
that  in  the  same  way  that  modernity  in  art  has  through 
this  achieved  at  least  notoriety,  so  also  in  the  case  of 
a return  to  ivory  for  sculpture  it  cannot  be  dispensed 
with.  When  those  who  have  the  means  can  detach 
themselves  from  the  collecting  only  of  the  antique, 
when  the  patronage  of  art  becomes  less  applied  to  the 
profit  mainly  of  the  dealers,  a step  which  is  necessary 
will  have  been  taken.  It  is  useless  to  ignore  this  fact. 
The  profession  of  sculpture  especially  demands  in  many 
ways  expense.  Under  other  conditions  in  the  middle 
ages,  as  we  have  seen,  men  of  the  highest  talent  were 
412 


THE  PRESENT  DAY 

contented  to  allow  their  individualities  to  remain  hidden. 
Public  rewards  and  exhibitions  were  unknown  to  them. 
It  is  more  difficult  for  the  artist,  nowadays,  to  sacrifice 
his  material  interests.  Those  whose  works  in  ivory  have 
been  alluded  to  are,  in  the  first  place,  great  sculptors  in 
marble.  They  naturally,  in  another  direction,  have 
regard  to  public  requirements. 

It  may  be  questioned  if  even  the  Belgian  sculptors 
worked  solely  for  love  of  the  material — much  as  they 
esteemed  it — and  not,  rather,  simply  because  the  govern- 
ment of  the  Congo  had  placed  in  their  hands,  with  a 
definite  object,  the  superb  tusks  which  came  from  that 
colonial  possession.  The  result  was  to  produce  a 
certain  movement  in  the  desired  direction  and  to  show 
that  a school  of  ivory  sculpture  could  easily  be  formed, 
but  that  support  was  necessary  for  a prolonged  existence. 
It  was  bounty-fed  in  fact,  and  through  the  apathy  or 
want  of  tangible  recognition  on  the  part  of  those  whose 
protection  is  essential  in  all  the  arts  it  was  almost 
strangled  at  its  birth.  The  public  admired,  the  success 
was  undeniable ; but  it  was  a succes  d'estime.  More 
than  this  is  required.  Undoubtedly  from  time  to  time 
the  sculptor  will  use  ivory  as  his  medium.  It  is  a 
delightful  material  to  work,  attractive,  delicate,  and 
graceful  in  results ; grateful  in  every  way  to  the  artist. 
It  bears  to  monumental  sculpture  something  of  the 
relation  that  miniature  painting  bears  to  the  art  of 
painting  on  a large  scale.  No  new  or  special  know- 
ledge is  required.  Any  sculptor  can  work  it.  What 
is  essential  is  the  creation  of  the  model,  to  be  after- 
wards reproduced  in  ivory.  But  still  more  essential  are 
patronage  and  a market,  and  these  at  a figure  worthy 
of  a great  artist.  All  this  must  be  conceded.  It  cannot 
be  denied  that  ivory  sculpture  since  its  most  glorious 
days  fell  into  bad  hands  and  got  a bad  name.  It  is 
from  the  productions  of  the  workshop  that  it  has  been 
judged.  To  the  public,  nowadays,  carving  in  ivory 

413 


IVORIES 

suggests  China  or  India ; nothing  more.  People  will 
pay  for  industrial  art  what  it  is  worth,  but  it  is  not  at 
such  a price  that  a sculptor  of  reputation  can  work. 
Nor  should  it  be  forgotten  that  from  the  point  of  view 
of  the  qualities  of  the  material  it  costs  as  much  to 
execute  a statuette  in  ivory,  a foot  or  so  in  height,  as 
to  produce  a life-size  statue  in  marble.  No  longer  does 
the  church  encourage  good  art  in  the  figures  and  statues 
of  religious  edifices.  Images  of  quite  another  order 
take  the  places  of  the  charming  statuettes  of  the 
Madonna  and  the  groups  representing  sacred  subjects 
which  mediaeval  art  has  given  to  us.  When,  also,  we 
remember  the  large  sums  obtained  for  a Veroli  casket, 
for  ancient  Byzantine,  or  mediaeval  caskets,  or  for  a 
“Vierge  de  Boubon,”  we  cannot  help  thinking  what 
a great  modern  artist  could  produce  of  this  kind  if  he 
were  offered  adequate  inducement.  Nothing  could  be 
more  appropriate  for  presentation  caskets  than  a simple 
one  of  ivory,  deriving  its  principal  value  from  the  work 
of  a sculptor  of  distinction  ; nothing  more  worthless 
than  the  hideous  productions  of  the  silversmith’s  shop, 
upon  which  the  choice  of  a corporation  so  often  falls  to 
honour  foreign  potentates  and  distinguished  guests. 

A few  points  arise  in  connection  with  modern  ivory 
carving  which  may  be  not  without  interest  to  notice. 
A minor  one,  perhaps,  is  the  question  to  what  extent 
the  ivory  should  be  polished.  Its  peculiar  sheen  and 
mellow  colour  are  especially  characteristic,  but  in 
certain  instances  the  artist  reduces  these,  and  prefers 
a matt  white  surface  which  it  is  difficult  to  distinguish 
from  marble.  It  need  hardly  be  said  that  absolute 
polishing  is  not  advisable.  As  an  example  of  an 
excellent  mean  the  smooth  surface  of  the  “Lamia” 
bust  may  be  given. 

Another  thing  which  can  hardly  escape  attention  is 
the  greater  popularity  of  chryselephantine  work,  or  the 
use  of  ivory  as  a secondary  material.  Looking  back, 
414 


THE  PRESENT  DAY 

and  following  the  history  of  the  art  as  it  has  been 
attempted  in  these  pages,  it  is  difficult  to  know  exactly 
what  inference  to  draw,  or  the  reason  for  the  preference. 
More  interesting  still  would  it  be  to  be  able  to  explain 
why  two  such  arts  as  ivory  and  wood  carving,  which  in 
the  past  produced  such  masters,  fell  into  disfavour. 
The  popularity  of  a certain  kind  which  the  latter  enjoys 
at  the  present  time  induces  the  question  why  great 
sculptors  hold  aloof.  Minor  arts  they  may  be,  but  they 
are  arts  which  have  given  us  the  mediaeval  ivories,  the 
busts  and  groups  of  Diirer  and  of  Riemenschneider, 
the  canopies,  stalls,  and  figures  of  the  choirs  of  cathedrals, 
and  the  roodbeams  of  the  churches,  inferior  in  nothing 
but  in  mere  size  to  the  architecture  and  statuary  in  stone 
or  marble  within  and  without.  The  answer  to  this  has, 
perhaps,  just  now  been  hinted  at.  May  it  not  be  said 
that  if  the  renaissance  of  such  things  has  not  yet  actually 
taken  place,  there  are  hopeful  signs  that  it  may  come  at 
any  time?  Neither  the  material  nor  the  men  are  wanting. 
That  in  the  case  of  ivory  the  one  is  worthy  of  the  other, 
no  one  will  have  the  hardihood  to  deny. 


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1 Of  Bishop  Otho.  2 Of  St.  Otto.  * Of  St.  Annon.  “*  Of  St.  Bernard.  Maskell  Collection.  ® Of  the  Abbot  of  Peterborough. 

® Of  St.  Gautier.  ’ Of  St.  Trophimus.  “ With  its  case  of  cuir-bouilli.  ® Part  of  group  in  a volute  of  crosier.  See  list,  page  215. 

“ Of  St.  Dunstan.  Qf  St.  Lupus.  Qf  St.  Herebert.  Of  St.  Berthuin.  Of  St.  Gauzelm. 

Of  St.  Hubert.  ” Maskell  Collection.  »»  Of  Henry  II.  A flabellum  case  (?).  '■^o  The  Veroh  casket.  21  -phe  “Franks  casket. 


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Casket  of  Cunegunda.  * Part  of  valve  of  mirror  case.  ® Shield  shaped  with  handle.  ■*  The  Ulphus,  Carlisle,  Bruce,  Blackburn,  etc.,  horns. 
Formerly  in  Gherardesca.  ® Waterton  considered  it  Irish. 


A LIST 

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' By  Guillermin.  ® Cfer.  the  crucifix  called  of  Charles-Quint  in  the  chapel  of  the  Peres  de  I’Assomption,  Paris. 

® By  Petel.  * By  Barthel.  ^ By  Permoser.  ® By  Bendel.  ’’  Maskell  Collection. 


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By  Angermair.  Maskell  Collection.  ^ By  Harrich.  Maskell  Collection.  “ Style  of  Jean  Goujon.  * By  Steinhards. 

By  Maucher.  ® Attributed  to  Duquesnoy.  By  Fayd’herbe  (?).  ® By  Van  Opstal.  ® By  Van  Bossuit.  By  Angermair. 


A LIST  OF  IVORIES 


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BIBLIOGRAPHY 


(Sufficient  only  of  the  titles  for  identification  is  given) 


Akermann,  J.  Y. 
Alcock,  Sir  R. 

Andr^,  M. 
Audsley,  G.  A. 
Auguin,  E. 

Aus’m  Weerth,  E. 
Aymard. 

Bandini,  A.  M. 
Bandurius,  A. 


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Hist,  de  la  cathedrale  de  Nancy.  (Lit.  combs.)  1882. 

Kunstdenkmdler  ...  in  den  Rheinlanden.  1857-60. 
Album  photographique  d'archiol.  religieuse.  1857. 

In  antiquam  tabulam  eburneam  sacra.  1746. 
Antiquitates  imperii  Orientis.  17 ll.  (Cons,  dipts.) 
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Barbier,  L.  N.  Esquisses  historiques  sur  I'ivoiririe.  1857. 

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Artisti  belgi  ed  olandesi  in  Roma  nei  secoli  16  e 17. 
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Pettine  d’avorio  intagliato.  (Combs,  secular).  1839. 
Antiquities  of  the  Christian  Church.  (New  ed.,  1880.) 
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Denkmdler  der  Renaissance  Skultur  Toscanas.  (600  fol. 
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Osservazione  di  una  frammento  di  tavoletta  antica 
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Cabinet  de  Part  de  la  sculpture  execute  en  ivoire.  1727. 
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Memorie  storico-critiche  . . . sopra  un  di  dittico  d. 
chiesa  . . . di  Milano.  1782. 


Bertolotti,  A. 

Bianconi,  G. 
Bingham,  J. 
Bock,  F. 

Bode,  W. 

[Bologna.] 

Bossuit,  F.  van. 
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431 


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Buonarruoti,  F. 


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BUrkner,  R. 
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Cerf,  Abb^. 
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Osservazioni  sopra  . . 
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Geschichte  der  kirchlichen  Kunst.  1903. 

Mdanges  d' arch^ologie.  1847-56. 

Specimens  of  Ancient  Sculpture.  1780.  (New  ed.  1838.) 
Histoire  de  N.  D.  de  Rehns.  1861. 

Catalogue  gMral  . . . cabinet  de  medailles.  1 867. 

„ „ Description  sommaire  des  monuments  exposes  ...  d.  la 

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Champeaux,  A.  de.  Les  travaux  d’art  executes  pour  Jean  . . . due  de 
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Charles,  Abbe  R.  Un  diptyque  d'ivoire  du  xiv‘  siecle.  1881. 
Chennevieres,  Ph.  de.  Notes  d'un  compilateur.  1858. 

Cicognara,  L.  Storia  della  scultura.  1823. 


1845-50. 

(Ed.  by  Earl  of 


Clinton,  H.  Fynes.  Fasti  Romani.  (List  of  consuls.) 

[Copenhagen].  A Guide  to  Northern  Archczology. 

Ellesmere.)  1848. 

Courajod,  L.  Catalogue  de  la  donation  Ch.  Davillier. 

Cust,  L.  Ivory  Workers  of  the  Middle  Ages.  1900. 

Darcel,  A.  Catalogue  raisonne  . . . Basilewsky  Collection. 

Dart,  J.  Canterbury  Cathedral.  (Appendix.)  1726. 

Denon,  V.  Monum.  des  arts  du  dessin.  (Diptych  of  fifth  or  sixth 

century.)  1829. 

Dibdin.  Bibliographical  Totir.  (Consular  diptychs.)  1821. 

Didron,  A.  N.  Iconographie  chrHienne.  1845. 

„ „ Annales  arcMologiques.  1844,  etc. 

Etude  sur  les  images  ouvrantes.  1870. 

De'  dittici  degli  antichi.,  prof ani  e sacri.  1753- 
Hist.  Nachricht  von  den  Niirnbergischen  Kiinstlern. 

1730. 

Hist,  de  I'abbaye  de  S.  Denis.  (Charlemagne  Chess- 
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Dragoni,  Abbe  B.  Sul  dittico  eburneo  . . . nel  Museo  Ponzom.  1810. 
Dresser,  C.  Japan:  its  Architecture,  Art,  etc.  1832. 

Ducange,  C.  D.  Ceraculum  diptychorum. 

„ Glossarium  med.  et  inf.  Latinitatis.  1840-50. 

Du  Meril,  E.  De  I'usage  de  tablettes  de  cire.  1861. 

Dunlop,  J.  History  of  Fiction.  1845. 

Durand,  G.  Rationale  divinorum  officiorum.  1459. 

DuSommerardjE.  Les  arts  au  Moyen-dge.  1838-46. 

432 


Didron,  E. 

Donati,  S. 
Doppelmayr,  J.  G. 

Doublet,  J. 


Erbstein,  J. 
Eudel,  P. 

Fol,  W. 

Forster,  E. 
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Catalogue  du  musce  Fol.  1874. 

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Garrucci,  R. 
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Storia  dell'  arte  Christiana.  1881. 

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Gori,  A. 

Graesse,  J.  G.  T. 

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Graeven,  H. 

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Heider,  G.  von,  and  Eitelberger,  R.  von.  Mittelalierliche  Knnstdenkmale. 
(Appendix,  Oliphants.)  1856-60. 

Hertfelder,  B.  Basilica  S.  Udalrici  in  Augsburg.  (Combs.)  1627. 
Holtzapfel,  C.  Turning  and  Mechanical  Manipulation.  1847. 
Hiibner,  E.  Die  antiken  Bildwerke  in  Madrid.  1862. 

Huish,  M.  Japan  a7td  its  Arts.  (Netsukes.) 


Jacquemart,  A. 
[Japan.] 

Histoire  du  mobilier.  1876. 

Report  of  the  Japanese  Commission.  Paris  Exhibition. 

Julliot,  G. 

1900. 

Tresor  de  la  cathedrale  de  Sens.  1886. 

Kantzeler,  P.  S.  Eine  Kunst-Reliquie  des  zehnten  Jahrhunderts.  1856. 
Kanzler,  Barone  R.  Gli  avori  . . . Vaticana.  1903.  (Photographs.) 

2 F 433 


Kramm,  C. 

IVORIES 

De  levens  en  werken  der  Holla^tdsche  en  Vlaamsche 
Kunstschilders.  1856. 

Kugler,  F.  T. 
Labarte,  J. 
Lacroix,  P. 

Kleine  Schriften.  1853. 

Histoire  des  arts  industriels.  1864. 

Les  arts  au  moyen  age.  1 869. 

Lartet,  E.,  and  Christy,  H.  Reliqum  Aquitanic(Z.  1875. 


Layard,  A.  H. 
Lee,  J.  E. 

Nineveh  and  its  Remains.  1 8 50. 

I sea  Silurum.  Illustrated  catalogue  of  the  museum 
at  Caerleon.  1862. 

The  I.ake  Dwellings  of  Switzerland.  (From  the 
German  of  F.  Keller.).  1872. 

Leich,  J.  H. 

De  diptychis  veterum  et  de  diptycho  Card.  Quirini. 

Lenormant,  C. 
Lievre,  E. 

[Lille.] 

Lind,  C. 

1743- 

Trhor  de  Ntwiismatique  et  de  Glyptique.  1834-46. 
Les  collections  celebres.  Collection  Sauvageot.  1 866. 
Catalogue  of  Exhibition  in  i8yq.  (36  ivory  crucifixes.) 
Ueber  den  Krummstab.  1863. 

Linde,  A.  van  der.  Geschichte  7md  Litteratiir  des  Schachspiels.  1874. 
Louandre,  C.  Les  arts  sompttiaires.  1857. 

Lowrie,  W.  Christian  Art  a?td  Archceology.  1901. 

Lubbock,  Sir  J.  (Lord  Avebury).  Pre-historic  Times.  1865, 

Liibke,  W.  Grundriss  der  Kmistgeschichte.  1 860. 


Mabillon,  J. 
MacColl,  D.  S. 
Madden,  Sir  F. 
Madrazo,  P.  de. 

Die  Mittelalterliche  Kunst  in  Westfalen.  (Charle- 
magne comb.)  1853. 

Annales  Ordinis  Sancti  Benedicti. 

Glasgow  Exhibition,  1903. 

Lewis  Chessmen.  (In  Archceologia,  vol.  xxiv.).  1832. 
Espana  artistica  y monuitiental.  1884. 

Maes,  J.,  and  Weale,  W.  H.  J.  Album  des  objets  d'ai't.  1864. 
Maffei,  S.  Museum  Veronense.  1749. 


Magri,  D. 
Maigne,  W. 
Mantuani,  J. 

Hierolexico7i.  (See  sub  pectenl) 

Manuel  . . . de  1' ivoirier.  [Manuels  Roret]  1889. 
Tuotilo  und  die  Elfenbemschnitzerei  . . . zu  S.  G alien. 
1900. 

Marguet,  A.,  and  Dauphinot,  A.  Tresor  de  la  Cath.  de  Reims.  1867. 
Marriott,  W.  B.  Vestiarium  Christianmn.  1868. 


Martene,  E. 
Martigny,  J.  A, 
Masked,  W. 

De  antiq.  eccles.  Ritibus.  (Fed.  dipts.)  1736- 
Diet,  des  antiq.  chrH.  (Diptychs.)  1865. 

Lvories  Ancient  and  Mediceval  in  the  South  Kensington 
Musemn.  1872. 

434 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Maze-Sencier,  A.  Le  Livre  des  Collectionnenrs,  1885. 
Menard,  L.  and  R.  Tableau  historique  des  Beaux  Arts.  1866. 


Meyer,  W. 

Zwei  antike  Elfenbeintafeln  der  Staats-k.  Bibl.  in 
Miinchen.  1 879. 

[Michael  Angelo.]  Lettre  addressee  a Madame  la  Comtesse  de  ...  a 
T occasion  d'un  crucifix  en  ivoire  sculpte  par  Michel- 


Millin,  A.  L. 
Molinier,  E. 

Ange  que  possede  cette  dame,  par  Courtois.  Paris, 
1845. 

Voyages.  (Diptychs.)  1802-6. 

Histoire  g^n^rale  des  arts.  1 896. 

„ Wallace  Collection.  Meubles  et  objets  d'art.  1904. 

Montfaucon,  B.  de.  U Antiquite  expliqu^e.  1729. 

Mortillet,  G.  Le  PrMstorique.  1883. 

Mozzoni,  I.  Tavole  cronologiche  della  storia  della  chiesa.  1856-63. 

Munich  National  Museum.  Meisterwerk  der  Elfenbein- Schnitzerei. 


! Miintz,  L.  T.  E. 

(Photos  only.)  1882. 

Histoire  de  Part  pendant  la  renaissance.  1889-95. 

; Nagler,  G.  K. 

Le  musee  d'art  du  xviifi  siecle.  1 902. 
Kiinstler-Lexikon.  1870-78. 

}> 

Die  Monogrammisten.  1858-79. 

[Nuremberg.]  Photographieen  aus  dem  gennanischen  Museum.  1865. 
[London:  Society  of  Antiquaries]  Vetusta  monumenta.  1747. 
Obernetter,  J.  B.  Kunst-Schdtze  aus  dein  Bay erischen  Museu7n.  (Photo- 


Oldfield,  E. 

graphs  only.) 

Catalogue  of  fictile  ivory  carvings  sold  by  the  Arundel 
Society.  1855. 

Palustre,  L. 

Melanges  d'art  et  d'archPologie.  (Crucifix  by  Faisten- 
berger.  1889. 

Passed,  G.  B. 
Pelliccia,  A.  A. 

In  Monumenta  sacra  eburnea  a clariss.  A . F.  Gori.  1759. 
De  Christianae  Ecclesiae  . . . politia.  1777-81. 

Perkins,  C.  C.  Tuscan  sculptors.  1864. 

Perrot  G.  et  Lasteyrie.  Monuments  et  Mhnoires. 

Pitt-Rivers,  A.  H.,  Lieut.-Gen.  Antique  Works  of  Art  from  Benin.  1900. 
Plumier,  C.  Part  de  tour ner.  1701. 

[Possente  Collection.]  Catalogue  de  la  collection.  1880. 

Pulszky,  F.  Catalogue  of  the  FejiTvary  ivories.  1856. 

Quatremere  de  Quincy,  A.  C.  Le  Jupiter  Olyinpien.  1815. 

Ranke,  C.  F.,  and  Kugler,  F.  J.  Beschreibung der  Schlosskirche  zu  Quedlin- 
burg.  1838. 

Read,  C.  H.,  and  Dalton,  O.  M.  Antiquities  from  Benin.  1899. 

435 


Kramm,  C. 

IVORIES 

De  levens  en  werken  der  Hollandsche  en  Vlaamsche 
Ku  nstsch  ilders.  1856. 

Kugler,  F.  T. 
Labarte,  J. 

Kleine  Schriften.  1853. 

Histoire  des  arts  industriels.  1864. 

Lacroix,  P.  Les  arts  au  7noyen  age.  1869. 

Lartet,  E.,  and  Christy,  H.  Reliquice  Aquitanicce.  1875. 


Layard,  A.  H. 
Lee,  J.  E. 

Nineveh  and  its  Remains.  1850. 

Isca  Silurum.  Illustrated  catalogue  of  the  museum 
at  Caerleon.  1862. 

Leich,  J.  H. 

The  I.ake  Dwellings  of  Switzerland.  (From  the 
German  of  F.  Keller.).  1872. 

De  diptychis  veterum  et  de  diptycho  Card.  Quirini. 

Lenormant,  C. 
Lievre,  E. 

[Lille.] 

Lind,  C. 

1743- 

Tresor  de  Numismatique  et  de  Glyptique.  1834-46, 
Les  collections  celebres.  Collection  Sauvageot.  1866. 
Catalogue  of  Exhibition  in  iSyq.  (36  ivory  crucifixes.) 
Ueber  den  Krummstab.  1863. 

Linde,  A.  van  der.  Geschichte  tend  Litteratiir  des  Schachspiels.  1 874. 
Louandre,  C.  Les  arts  somptuaires.  1857. 

Lowrie,  W.  Christian  Art  and  Archceology.  1901. 

Lubbock,  Sir  J.  (Lord  Avebury).  Pre-historic  Times.  1865. 

Lubke,  W.  Grundriss  der  Kunstgeschichte.  i860. 


Mabillon,  J. 
MacColl,  D.  S. 
Madden,  Sir  F. 
Madrazo,  P.  de. 

Die  Mittelalterliche  Ku7ist  m Westfaleti.  (Charle- 
magne comb.)  1853. 

Annales  Ordinis  Sancti  Benedicti. 

Glasgow  Exhibition,  1903. 

Lewis  Chessmen.  (In  Archceologia,  vol.  xxiv.).  1832. 
Espafia  artistica  y monumental.  1884. 

Maes,  J.,  and  Weale,  W.  H.  J.  Album  des  objets  d'art.  1864. 
Maffei,  S.  Museum  Veronense.  1749. 


Magri,  D. 
Maigne,  W. 
Mantuani,  J. 

Hierolexicon.  (See  sub  pectenl) 

Manuel  . . . delivoirier.  [Manuels  Roret.]  1889. 
Tuotilo  und  die  Elfenbemschnitzerei  . . . zu  S.  Galle^i. 
1900. 

Marguet,  A.,  and  Dauphinot,  A.  Tresor  de  la  Cath.  de  Reims.  1867. 
Marriott,  W.  B.  Vestiarium  Christiamim.  1868. 


Martene,  E. 
Martigny,  J.  A. 
Masked,  W. 

De  antiq.  eccles.  Ritibus.  (Feel,  dipts.)  1736- 
Diet,  des  antiq.  chrH.  (Diptychs.)  1865, 

Ivories  Ancient  and  Mediezval  in  the  South  Kensington 
Musemn.  1872. 

434 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


Maze-Sencier,  A. 
Menard,  L.  and  R. 
Meyer,  W. 


Le  Livre  des  Collectionneurs.  1885. 

Tableau  historique  des  Beaux  Arts.  1866. 

Zwei  antike  Elfenbeintafeln  der  Staats-k.  Bibl.  in 
Miinchen.  1879. 

[Michael  Angelo.]  Lettre  addressee  d Madame  la  Comtesse  de  ...  d 
I' occasion  d'un  crucifix  en  ivoire  sculpte par  Michel- 
Ange  que  possede  cette  dame,  par  Courtois.  Paris, 
1845. 

Voyages.  (Diptychs.)  1802-6. 

Histoire  g^nerale  des  arts.  1 896. 

Wallace  Collection.  Meubles  et  objets  d'art.  1904. 

U A ntiquite  expliqude.  1 729. 


Millin,  A.  L. 
Molinier,  E. 

Montfaucon,  B.  de. 


Mortillet,  G. 
Mozzoni,  I. 
Munich  National 


Le  Prehistorique.  1883. 

Tavole  cronologiche  della  storia  della  chiesa.  1856-63. 
Museum.  Meisterwerk  der  Elfenbein-Schnitzerei. 
(Photos  only.)  1882. 

Histoire  de  Part  pendant  la  renaissance.  1889-95. 

Le  musee  d'art  du  xviij^  siecle.  1 902. 
Kiinstler-Lexikon.  1870-78. 

Die  Monogrammisten.  1858-79. 

Photographieen  aus  dem  germanischen  Museum.  1865. 
[London:  Society  of  Antiquaries]  Vetusta  monumenta.  1747. 
Obernetter,  J.  B.  Kunst-Schdtze  aus  dem  Bayeriscken  Museum.  (Photo- 
graphs only.) 

Catalogue  of  fictile  ivory  carvings  sold  by  the  Arundel 
Society.  1855. 

Melanges  cP art  et  d' archPologie.  (Crucifix  by  Faisten- 
berger.  1889. 

In  Monumenta  sacra  eburnea  a clariss.  A . F.  Gori.  1759. 
De  Christianae  Ecclesiae  . . . politia.  1777-81. 
Tuscan  sculptors.  1864. 

Perrot  G.  et  Lasteyrie.  Monuments  et  Mhnoires. 

Pitt-Rivers,  A.  H.,  Lieut.-Gen.  Antique  Works  of  Art  from  Benin.  1900. 
Plumier,  C.  Dart  de  tourner.  1701. 

[Possente  Collection.]  Catalogue  de  la  collection.  1880. 

Pulszky,  F.  Catalogue  of  the  Fejervdry  ivories.  1856. 

Quatremere  de  Quincy,  A.  C.  Le  Jupiter  Olympien.  1815. 

Ranke,  C.  F.,  and  Kugler,  F.  J.  Beschreibung der  Schlosskirche  zu  Quedlin- 
burg.  1838. 

Read,  C.  H.,  and  Dalton,  O.  M.  Antiquities  from  Benin.  1899. 

435 


Muntz,  L.  T.  E. 

Nagler,  G.  K. 

>)  » 

[Nuremberg.] 


Oldfield,  E. 

Palustre,  I.. 

Passed,  G.  B. 
Pelliccia,  A.  A. 
Perkins,  C.  C. 


INDEX 


Abbots’  crosiers,  195 

Abydos,  finds  at,  45 

Academy,  Royal,  sculpture  at,  408 

Alcester  tau,  199 

Ancient  ivories,  47 

Animal  symbolism,  87 

Antlers,  engraved,  371 

Arabian  art,  337 

Archangel  diptych,  105 

Architecture,  connection  with,  147 

Arms,  inlaid,  368 

Arquebusses,  inlaid,  369 

Artificial  ivory,  373 

Artists,  see  sculptors 

„ mediseval  names  wanting,  149 
„ post-Renaissance,  274 
„ prehistoric,  24 
Assyria,  31 

Augustine,  St.,  his  writing  tablets,  238 

Beads,  rosary,  180,  270 
Benedict,  St.,  rule  of,  19 1 
Benedictines,  travels  of,  74,  385 
Benin,  ivories  from,  ii,  328 
Berhampore,  furniture  from,  336 
Bernard,  St.,  his  crosier,  204 
Bestiaries,  86 
Billiard-balls,  373 
Bombay  mosaic,  336 
Bone  included  also,  4 
„ in  Italian  w'ork,  168,  231 
Bonzoline,  377 
Book-covers,  in,  154 
Boubon,  Vierge  de,  173 
Brahminadab,  chessmen  from,  317 
Buckingham  Palace,  furniture  at,  361 
Byzantine  art,  14,  99 

438 


Caerleon,  objects  found  at,  12 
Cantor’s  staff,  207 
Carlovingian  ivories,  126 
Carmichael  collection,  175 
Cartouche  of  Auben-Ra,  41 
Caskets  : — 

Arab,  323 
Brescia,  107 
Byzantine,  221 
Indian,  335 
Marriage,  231 
Mediaeval,  151 
Romance 
Runic,  223 
Veroli,  222 
Castle  of  love,  229 
Celtic  ornament,  127 
Centres  of  ivory  carving,  280 
Ceremonial,  130 
Certosina  work,  357 
Ceylon,  style,  334 

„ ivories  from,  334 
Chair  of  St.  Peter,  125 
„ Maximian,  109 
Charlemagne  chessmen,  315 
Chess  and  chessmen,  19,  309 
Chessmen  in  inventories,  312 
„ the  “Lewis,”  313 
Chinese  ivories,  339 
Chryselephantine  work,  375 
Church  and  synagogue,  160 
„ influence  of,  15,  271 
Cingalese  ivories,  334 
Cingolo,  the  holy,  189 
Cloisonne  enamel,  analogy  with  some 
Nineveh  ivories,  39,  42 
Coat,  the  holy,  120 


INDEX 


Coin  cabinets,  293 
Collections,  the  great,  390 
Colouring  of  ivories,  388 
Comb,  St.  Edward’s,  208 
Combs,  domestic,  235 
„ list  of,  218 
„ liturgical,  207 
„ Roman,  235 
Composition,  harmonious,  1 56 
Congo  State,  importation  from,  400 
„ „ exhibition  of,  400,  413 

Consular  dress,  57 
„ diptychs,  47 
„ diptychs  used  in  liturgy,  128 

„ palimpsests,  132 

„ statuette,  70 
Conventional  treatment,  19,  91 
Coptic  screens,  338 
Coquille,  Guy,  his  jest,  197 
Crepitaculum,  213 
Crosier,  the  term,  192 
Crosiers,  on  tombs,  195 

„ inscriptions  on,  196 
„ list  of,  215 

„ magnificence  in  metal,  197 
„ rococo,  206 
„ symbolism  of,  195,  198 
Cross,  creeping  to  the,  249 
„ iconography  of,  251 
Crucifixes : — 

Conventional  or  realistic,  247 
Evolution  of,  249 
In  early  Christian  art,  250 
Post- Renaissance,  259 
Primitive  type,  255 
Rarity  of,  246 

Crucifixion,  earliest  representation  of,  25 1 
Curiosities,  304 
Curule  chair,  57 

Decadence  of  ivory  sculpture,  20,  275 
Decorative  treatment,  84 
Default  in  chain  of  art,  51 
Dieppe,  ivory  carving  at,  280 
Diptych,  meaning  of  term,  52 
Diptychs,  consular,  53 
„ liturgical,  129 

„ mediaeval,  155 

„ Roman,  70 


Dives  and  Pauper,  dialogue,  196 
Dordogne,  finds  in  the,  21 
Dormition,  the,  1 13 
Downside  abbey,  crucifix  at,  263 
Draughtsmen,  319 

Early  Christian  ivories,  82 
Egypt,  ancient,  31 
Egyptian  ivories,  32,  45 
Eland’s  antler,  Byzantine,  120 
Elephant-hunting,  5 
Encaustic  engraving,  359 
English  ivories,  153,  161,  408 
„ „ claim  for,  161,  169 

„ „ rarity  of  mediaeval,  153 

Etruscan  ivories,  43,  48,  49 
Exhibition,  Musde  Galli^ra,  404 

Fans,  303 

Fej^rvdry  collection,  75 
Fictile  ivories,  281,  378 

„ „ how  to  make,  378 

Fitz-Henry  collection,  167 
Flabellum,  use  of,  184 
„ examples,  185 
„ of  Tournus,  186 
Forgeries,  379 
Fossil  ivory,  37 
French  ivories,  404 

„ mediaeval  ivories,  143,  153 
Furniture,  ivory,  355 
„ inlaid,  350 

Gall,  St.,  monastery  and  ivories  of,  1 1 

Gallalith,  378 

Gilbertson  collection,  352 

Goa  work,  327 

Golden  legend,  157 

Gothic  style,  140 

Grandisson,  diptych  and  triptych,  160 
Greek,  Ancient,  ivories,  47,  49 
Grogan,  E.  S.,  his  “ Cape  to  Cairo,”  5 
Groups,  St.  George  and  Dragon,  177 
„ Coronation  of  B.V.M.,  177 

„ Descent  from  Cross,  i8o 

Guildhall,  crucifix  fragment  at,  258 

Harp,  ivory,  361 
Harrowing  of  hell,  159 
Henley,  Orator,  plaque,  301 


439 


IVORIES 


Hindoo  art,  332,  333 
Hispano-Moresque  art,  322,  337 
Holbourne  Museum,  299 
Horns,  tenure,  241 
.,  drinking,  242 

„ hunting,  243 

„ in  wills  and  inventories,  240 
„ used  in  churches,  189,  241 

Iconoclasm,  104 
India,  ivories  from,  330 
Inventories  and  wills,  ivories  mentioned 
in,  144 
Ivory  : — 

African,  3 
Artificial,  377 
Asiatic,  4 
Bleaching,  387 
Cape,  5 
Ceylon,  5 
Characteristics,  3 
Colouring,  388 
Definition  of  term,  3 
Discolouration  of,  386 
Drain  of  supply  of,  6 
Fictile,  281,  378 
Fossil,  37 
Grain  of,  3 
Green  or  Guinea,  4 
Hippo,  8 
Imitation,  377 
Indian,  3 

Large  slabs  of,  374 
Lasting  nature  of,  28 
London  sales  of,  6 
Mammoth,  7 
Narwhale,  9 
Polishing,  414 
Softening  of,  376 
Staining,  389 

Statistics  of  importation,  6 
Supply  becoming  scarce,  6 
Vegetable,  376 
Walrus,  9 
Working  of,  373 
Ivory  carving,  importance  of,  2 
„ ,,  history  of,  9 

Japan,  ivories  from,  341 
Japanese  inlaid  work,  343 

440 


I Japanese  mixture  of  materials,  44 
I Jewels,  studding  with,  119 
Jones  collection,  289,  359 

Knives  and  forks,  handles  of,  303,  371 

Large  slabs,  374 
Leon,  crucifix  at,  255 
Lincoln,  Cathedral  treasury,  144 
Liturgical  diptychs,  130 
Londesborough  collection,  282 
Love,  castle  of,  229 
„ as  a seraph,  233 

Mammoth  ivory,  6 
Mannerism,  156 

Manners  and  customs  illustrated,  19 
Mappa  CircensiSy  56 
Marquetry,  Arab,  338 
Marriage  caskets,  231 
Medallion  portraits,  300 
Meleretense  diptych,  72 
Memento  vwri,  188 
Metnoria  technica,  158 
Metz,  sacramentaire  de,  136 
Microscopic  work,  299 
Mirror  cases,  232 
Modern  ivory  sculpture,  394 

„ Belgian  sculptors,  400 

„ English  „ 408 

„ French  „ 396,  404 

Mogul  style,  335 

Monks  as  ivory  sculptors,  17,  190 
Monstrous  animals,  87 
Morse  ivory,  9 

Mortars  and  pestles  (Chinese),  340 
Musical  instruments,  360 
I Mythology,  Indian,  333 

I Naive  treatment,  94 
Nativity,  Rhenish  treatment  of,  94 
Netsuk^s,  344 
Nineveh,  ivories  from,  31 
j ,,  Layard’s  excavations,  34 

I „ ivories,  possible  date,  45 

Nuns,  their  work,  190 

Oliphants  {see  horns) 

I Oscott,  crucifix  at,  264 

Palimpsests,  133 


INDEX 


Panagia,  123 

Sculptors  : — 

Pastoral  staves,  192 

Angerman,  306 

„ „ ancient  form  of,  192 

Anguier,  M.,  261 

„ „ list  of,  214 

„ F.,  261 

Pax,  meaning  of  the  term,  186 

Barrias,  405 

Paxes,  188 

Barthel,  265 

Persian  ivories,  337 

Bates,  41 1 

Phidias,  gigantic  statues  by,  375 

Beham,  305 

Pierced  work  (Burgundian),  151 

Belleteste,  308 

Pilgrim,  or  shepherd  groups,  327,  329 

Bendel,  296 

Pinheads,  gold,  studding  with,  1 19 

Berg,  299 

Portuguese  ivories,  326 

Bianchi,  304 

Prehistoric  ivories,  remote  antiquity,  21,27 

Boncquet,  404 

Puzzle-balls,  Chinese,  340 

Bonzanigo,  307 

Pyxes,  classical,  77 

Bouchardon,  307 

„ early  Christian,  88 

Bourgoin,  405 

„ ecclesiastical,  150 

Braecke,  404 

Braun,  306 

Ram,  in  crosiers,  201 

Burrer,  306 

Rambona,  diptych  of,  93 

Caracci,  305 

Ravenna,  chair  at,  109 

Caron,  405 

Reformation,  destruction  at,  145 

Cavalier,  301 

Reindeer  age,  27 

Cellini,  259,  283 

Renaissance,  273 

Chevallier,  307 

„ changeofstyle  with,267,27i 

Cointre,  308 

Rests,  Scribes’,  239 

Copd,  305 

Retables,  i68 

Cosyns,  305 

Revival  of  ivory  sculpture,  412 

Craco,  404 

Rhenish  ivories,  126 

Cresson,  308 

Ring,  rosary,  244 

Crucvolle,  308 

Rococo  style,  272,  278 

Daebler,  306 

Roman  ivories,  70 

Dampt,  406 

Romance  subjects,  227 

De  Broutelles,  407 

Romulus  and  Remus,  94,  224 

Dechaulme,  177 

Rosary  beads,  188,  270 

Degoney,  308 

Rothschild  hunting-horn,  299 

Delacour,  308,  405,  4o8 

Runic  caskets,  223 

De  Monvel,  408 

Russian  ivories,  120 

De  Rudder,  404 

„ iconography,  122 

Des  Enfans,  404 

De  Tombay,  404 

Saddles,  366 

De  Vigne,  404 

Saints,  not  often  represented,  134 

De  Vreese,  404 

„ list  of  those  found  on  ivories,  135 

Dillens,  400 

Saracenic  ivories,  337 

Dobbermann,  306 

Sculptors  : — 

Dubois,  404 

Algardi,  285 

Dupont,  404 

Allouard,  405 

Duquesnoy,  F.,  259,  285 

Aloise,  308 

„ J.,  259,  287 

[Ancient  sculptors],  398 

Diirer,  283 

Angermair,  269,  292 

Ebenhech,  308 

441 


IVORIES 


Sculptors  : — 

Elhafen,  295 
Faistenberger,  262,  269 
Faltz,  306 

Fayd’herbe,  283,  289 

Ferrary,  308,  405 

Fiammingo  {see  Duquesnoy) 

Fisher,  41 1 

Flottner,  305 

Foy,  405 

Frampton,  409 

Francelli,  305 

Francavilla,  283 

Freese,  307 

Garbe,  408 

Gardet,  405 

Geleyn,  404 

Gerber,  308 

Gdrome,  408 

Geuns,  308 

Gilbert,  410 

Giovanni  Pisano,  149,  282,  304 
„ di  Bologna,  283 
Girardon,  260 
Gleichen,  408 
Gouin,  307 
Goujon,  259,  283 
Guillermin,  260 
Hainmeran,  306 
Harrich,  269 
Heiden,  297 
Hencke,  307 
Hengrave,  308 
Henneguy,  308 
Hennen,  306 
Herz,  306 
Heschler,  306 
Hesin,  305 
Jaillot,  H.,  261 
„ S.,  261 

[Japanese  sculptors],  353,  354 

Jenkins,  41 1 

Jespers,  404 

John,  412 

Kern,  294 

Khnopft',  402 

Kohler,  297 

Krebar,  305 

Kruger,  297 

Lacroix,  307 


Sculptors  : — 

Lagae,  404 
L’Agneau,  306 
Lalique,  407 
Lautensack,  305 
Lebraellier,  149 
Lefever,  404 
I Le  Geret,  263 
Le  Marchand,  300 
Lenker,  305 
Leoni,  305 
Lobenigk,  305 
Lorenzo  da  Pavia,  305 
Madrassi,  407 
Mansel,  306 
Maucher,  278,  296 
Mauger,  307 
Max  Emanuel,  306 
Meugniot,  397 
Meunier,  401 
Michael  Angelo,  283 
Millet,  307 

Moreau-Vauthier,  396 
Nicolle,  304 
Paulus,  307 
Permoser,  265,  294 
Petel,  265,  294 
Philippe,  307 
Planzone,  305 
I Pompe,  308 
! Pozzo,  305 
I Pronner,  307 
Quellinus,  306 
Rauchmiller,  296 
Reynolds-Stephens,  41 1 
Riviere,  406 
Rombaux,  402 
Rosset,  308 
Samuel,  403 
Scailliet,  308 
Scheemackers,  306 
Schliiter,  307 
Schuler,  307 
Senger,  297 
Simart,  397 
Soitoux,  308 
Spano,  305 
Steinhard,  277 
Steudner,  307 
Stockamer,  307 


442 


INDEX 


Sculptors  : — 

Strauss,  294 
Teuber,  297 
Tielke,  305 
Tornier,  307 
Torre,  305 
Triqueti,  308 
Troger,  307 
Tutilo,  1 13 
Vaillant,  308 
Van  Beurden,  403 
Van  Beveren,  305 
Van  Bossuit,  294 
Van  der  Stappen,  402 
Van  Opstal,  279-91 
Verhulst,  306 
Vever,  308 
Villerme,  260 
Vinckenbrinck,  306 
Vincotte,  404 
Von  Liicke,  308 
Voyez,  299 
Walker,  41 1 
Weckhart,  305 
Weygers,  404 
Wolfers,  403 
Xavery,  306 
Zick,  297 

Sceptre  of  Louis  XIII.,  281 
Scriptures,  references  in,  1 1,  38 
Sculptors,  names  wanting,  149 

„ post-Renaissance,  see  list 

Sculpture,  default  for  centuries,  13 
„ mediseval  ivory,  16 

Seals,  244 

Serpent,  on  crosiers,  etc.,  200 
Shrines,  155,  165 
Siculo-Arab  work,  202 
Simart’s  reproduction  of  Minerva,  399 
Situlae,  184 

Sketches,  prehistoric,  22 
Soul,  see  Dormition 
Spanish  ivories,  321 
Stag’s  horn,  used  for  ivory,  368 


Statuettes,  mediaeval,  169 
Sun  and  moon,  symbolism,  250 
Symbolism,  85 

Tabernacles,  144 
Tabernacle  work,  145 
Tables  (writing  tablets),  70,  189,  236 
Tankards,  279,  289 
Tarsia  work,  357 
Tau,  193 
Taus,  list  of,  214 
Tessera,  50 
Throne,  Indian,  10 
; Thrones,  Russian,  124 
j Tippo  Sahib,  chairs  and  couches,  359 
I Tobacco  graters,  303 
I Tournus,  flabellum  of,  186 
I Tours  de  force,  280,  298 
Trick  carving,  298 
Triptychs,  155 

Trower,  H.  Seymour,  collection,  352 
Turkish  ivories,  337 
Tusks,  large,  4,  8 
Tutilo,  monk  of  St.  Gall,  113 
Twist  or  bend  in  statuettes,  170 

Vase,  Byzantine,  107 
Veneers,  machine  for,  375 
Veroli,  casket,  222 
“ Vierges  ouvrantes,”  171 

„ „ of  Boubon,  173 

„ „ „ Louvre,  172,  383 

» >.  » Lyon,  172 

; „ „ „ Rouen,  172 

, Vivian  collection,  410 
Volute  in  crosiers,  200,  202 

! Wallace  collection,  167 
I Walrus  ivory,  9 
West  Africa,  ivories  from,  327 
; Wood  and  ivory,  mixture  of,  296 
' Wood-carving,  its  perfection  in  Germany, 
I 274 

i Writing  tablets,  236 


443 


PLYMOUTH 

'ILLIAM  BREHDON  AND  SON,  LIMITED 
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GETTY  CENTER  LIBRARY 


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